CONCUSSIONLet’s take head injuries out of play

A must read for all players

» Confusion

» Headache

» Amnesia/difficulty with memory

» Balance problems

» Irritability

» Dizziness

» Difficulty concentrating

» Nausea

» Feeling sluggish, foggy or groggy

» Sensitivity to noise or light

» Double/hazy vision

» Slowed reaction time

» Feeling more emotional

» Sleep disturbance

» Loss of consciousness

Report itNever ignore symptoms, even if they appear mild. Look out for your mates. Tell your trainer or team doctor if you think you or a team mate may have had a concussion. You are NOT being a wimp or wuss in reporting such an injury.

Get checked outYour medical team has your health and well being as its main priority. They will manage your concussion according to NRL (world’s best practice) guidelines, which include having no symptoms, at rest and after exercise and having normal neurological and neurosychometric testing before being cleared to train and play.

Take care of your brainResearch has shown that “traumatic brain injury can cause a wide range of short - and long term changes affecting thinking, language and/or emotions”. These changes can lead to problems with memory, personality changes, depression and early onset of  dementia.

Repeat concussions and/or repeat brain injury can change your life and your family’s life forever.

Training or playing while still experiencing symptoms can lengthen the time to recover and return to play.

Concussion is not like other injuries, there may be significant long term consequences with “playing through” your injury. Repetitive concussion, when not treated promptly and properly may cause irreversible damage to your brain.

What should I do?

Why report my symptoms?

Concussion symptoms

Concussion is an injury that changes the way your brain functionsConcussion can occur from a blow to the head or body:

» Following a head clash

» Contact with the ground or another player

Most concussions happen without being “knocked out”.

Severity of the injury depends on many factors.

All concussions are not the same.

Each player is different, each injury is different and all injuries should be evaluated by your Doctor.

Symptoms vary from player to player and may not be obvious for some time after the injury. Common symptoms include:

Symptoms may become worse with physical or mental exertion (weights, reading, computer games).

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