Sports-related traumatic brain injury (TBI) focus of new US Study
The high rate of devastating injuries in equine sports has made lots of headlines recently (EQWO.net reported) . Every rider knows, that getting on a big and fast animal has it’s risks.
The recent study of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons with researchers of the University of California, San Francisco (USA) and San Francisco General Hospital tried to find out how sports-related traumatic brain injuries (TBI) affected a general population of adults who participated in sports recreationally.
For this study, the researchers analyzed data from the National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB) using data from patients older than 18 years between the years 2003 and 2012. The injuries were categorized into five categories: fall or interpersonal contact, roller sports, skiing/snowboarding, equestrian and related sports, and aquatic sports.
At 45,2% equestrian sport ist the highest contributor to the TBI followed by fall or interpersonal contact with 20,3%, but this category is very broad, as it includes all intentional and accidental collisions between people as well as incidents where a sport participant is struck in the head by „an object“.
The analysis of the data according to age shows clearly, that the risk of injury rises with age.
Unfortunately the use of helmets was not part of the study, due to the fact, that the data bank was not complete in that regard. Nevertheless, the study emphasises the use of helmets. „Increasing TBI awareness and helmet use—particularly in equestrian and roller sports—are critical elements for reducing sports-related TBI in adults. Rates of helmet use are 25% or lower across equestrian sports, despite the fact that helmets have been associated with as much as a 40%–50% reduction in absolute risk for TBI.“
The study was published in the April 2016 issue of Neurosurgical Focus from the Journal of Neurosurgery.
The FEI will join some of the world’s top international sports organisations in Berlin (GER) Germany next October for the Fifth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport.
Concussions are in the spotlight more than ever, and have become the predominant safety issue for athletes competing in equestrian and other sports. For this reason, organisations like the IOC, FEI, FIFA and World Rugby have taken a lead role in organising this conference and developing it into the world’s most influential process for policy makers on concussions in sport.
The purpose of the conference is two-fold. The first objective is to present a summary of new evidence-based research that covers all aspects of concussions including definition, management, investigations, treatment, return-to play protocol, prevention and knowledge transfer.
An expert panel group, which includes FEI Medical Committee member Allen Sills, reviews the research presented at the Conference and develops the consensus from the information presented at the meeting.
With the facts presented by the world’s experts and researchers in concussion in sport, the second objective is to reach an agreement amongst the conference participants in developing a Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sports: a protocol document for physicians and healthcare professionals involved in the care of injured athletes at the recreational, elite or professional level.
Since its inception in 2001, the conference has become the main forum for concussion awareness and prevention. It led to the publication of the first Sport Concussion Assessment Tool (SCAT) in 2005, which is in use by many sports leagues and federations today. The Consensus and the SCAT has formed the foundation by which the majority of sporting organisations have developed protocols with respect to concussions. The SCAT ranks as one of the most significant efforts by the sports medicine field to address concussion treatment and prevention.
The most recent conferences (the last in 2012 in Zurich) have developed and adjusted the SCAT, currently in its 3rd version (SCAT3), in order to fit better the treatment and prevention needs of both pro athletes and children (Child SCAT3). A pocket concussion recognition tool (Pocket CRT) has also been developed for parents, coaches and others to help with concussion detection.
The forthcoming Berlin Consensus will address a broad range of topics including concussion detection, evaluation and that would then be published in leading medical journals.
The Fifth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport (ICCCS) will run from 27-28 October, 2016 in Berlin, Germany.
Source Fifth International Consensus Conference : Press release
This article was written by EQUESTRIAN WORLDWIDE – EQWO.net and is NOT a press release. Copying of the text and pictures is not allowed.
