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Editorial
From management to prevention: the new cure for sports concussion
  1. John Batten1,
  2. Adam John White1,
  3. Eric Anderson1,
  4. Rachael Bullingham2
  1. 1 Department of Sport and Exercise, University of Winchester, Winchester, Hampshire, UK
  2. 2 Institute of Sport and Exercise, University of Worcester, Worcester, Worcestershire, UK
  1. Correspondence to John Batten, Department of Sport and Exercise, University of Winchester, Winchester, Hampshire SO22 4NR, UK; John.Batten{at}winchester.ac.uk

https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2015-095949

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    Introduction

    A recent BJSM editorial argued that ‘turning people into couch potatoes is not the cure for sports concussion’.1 Specifically, it was noted how heightened anxiety over sports concussion has caused participation levels to fall; that concussions are common in contact sports; and that there remains a need for the development of specific concussion management protocols targeted at each level of the game. In this response, the evidence to support each of these contentions is examined. A case for directing attention away from concussion management and towards the prevention of concussions in sport is also stated.

    Concussion as a barrier to physical activity

    In the UK, as little as 6% of men and 4% of women, aged 16 years or over, meet the recommended government guidelines for physical activity.2 Such statistics support the argument that the UK as a whole is becoming dangerously inactive. Indeed, insufficient physical activity leads to ∼3 million deaths (globally) per year.3 Although heightened anxiety over concussion has likely reduced participation in contact sports, …

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    Footnotes

    • Twitter Follow John Batten @JBatz85, Adam White @AdJWhite, Eric Anderson @EricAndersonPhD, and Rachael Bullingham @bulrac

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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