The UK Government has issued concussion guidance for all grassroots sports. You may recall that British Cycling recently issued its own guidance, having decided that it couldn’t wait any longer for the Government’s awaited report to be published. The British Cycling Guidance is (obviously) more cycling specific, but at first pass both documents seem aligned.
Players, parents, coaches, teachers and administrators are now asked to read the guidance and familiarise themselves with the necessary steps to:
- RECOGNISE the signs of concussion;
- REMOVE anyone suspected of being concussed immediately and;
- RETURN safely to daily activity, education/work and, ultimately, sport.
– UK government
This latest guidance again follows the ‘If it doubt, sit it out’ principle, and reiterates that you do not need to lose consciousness or even hit your head to have a concussion. It also states that if you are knocked out, you do have a concussion.
In the event of a concussion, the new guidance sets out a six-stage process for recovery. This includes a period of no less than two weeks where no activity which could cause a further head injury is undertaken. If there are continuing symptoms of concussion, this period could be much longer than two weeks.
The guidance also echoes the British Cycling guidance by putting competitive sport in a separate category, meaning that even if you’re cleared to return to training, you can expect to be out of competitive sport for at least 21 days after a concussion.
However, the UK Government’s guidance includes specific recommendations about returning to education or work on a phased basis. People or parents affected by concussions may well find this new sports-wide government guidance useful when seeking the flexibility needed to recover.
The Scottish Government has had concussion guidance in place since 2015. This new guidance is UK wide.
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