Footballers suffering from concussion will have to leave the field, announces the English Football Association. These traumas can be dangerous for the brain.
The image of Hugo Lloris, authorized to return to the field after losing consciousness last November, marked the English. They are now the first to take this precautionary measure: footballers suffering from concussion will have to be replaced. Thus, in case of supposed or confirmed loss of consciousness, the player will have to exit. And the English Football Federation makes it compulsory to have a doctor near the pitch. Because these concussions, if they are repeated, put the brain in danger. If shock occurs the same day, it can cause severe brain damage or even fatal bleeding. In the long term, in the event of repeated shocks, forms of dementia can develop.
A protocol for rugby
In France, during the Hugo Lloris accident, some doctors had sounded the alarm. But the French authorities have still not modified the regulations. On the other hand, they were more reactive in the field of rugby. In 2012, they implemented a concussion prevention protocol. If a player loses consciousness, he is immediately replaced. And if there is just a shock to the head, the player goes off the pitch for 5 minutes and gets examined by a doctor. He checks his balance and memory by asking him which team he is playing against, what the score is and who scored the last points. If only one answer is wrong, it is replaced.
Frequent accidents
It must be said that these incidents are frequent. The French Rugby Federation counted two per day of the Top 14 championship in 2013. And there is only KO in 15% of cases, which makes the time given to the diagnosis all the more important. But this protocol has limits. It only applies during matches, while shocks can also occur in training.
.
