A concussion is a traumatic brain injury caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes a bounce of the brain in the skull, damaging brain cells.
In a sport like rugby is one of the most common injuries, and for this reason there are strict rules that change every year.
In fact, any type of blow or hit to the head is considered a serious injury, and the athlete is treated as if he has a concussion.
There are rules about the minimum recovery times from the injury after which you must be seen by a certified doctor who gives the green light to the athlete to return to the field.
The problem with this type of injury is that it is treated very well at a very high level but being something that happens very often also at the amateur and youth level there should be better control since in some cases a concussion could lead to very serious damage during life.
According to an article by Sarah Mockford published by RugbyWorld, in fact, there is a study that shows that 29% of athletes who have suffered at least three concussions after the age of 75 have worse cognitive function.
There article of Sarah Mockford shows also a study made on 44 rugby players in which the players between July 2017 and September 2019 were monitored with periodic brain scans, that shows that 23% of them after a year had a malfunction of the brain cells or small tears in blood vessels.
The symptoms of the concussion are lots, headache, ringing in the ears, nausea, vomiting, blurry vision… but they are not easily recognizable and in the emotion of a game often the athlete does not notice the injury, continuing to play and risking doing serious damages to his brain.