For Immediate Release
International Group Emerges to Help Tackle Concussion in Sport
AUCKLAND, New Zealand, 7 October 2022 - The Repercussion Group brings researchers, board certified clinicians, caregivers and leading advocates together from several counties. Our goal? To bridge a global cross disciplinary initiative to champion patient-centered dialogue specific to the effects of repeated head injury from sport.
“I’m an historian of medicine. My role in the Repercussion Group is to help provide interpretive context to concussion, I aim to center player, patient, and caregiver experiences in the fraught healthcare ecosystem of sport…our history shows in global sport, time and again, competitive advantage becomes overwhelming, its costs are high, there’s a tension at the heart of sport…and the necessity to keep perspective about risk.” Dr. Stephen T. Casper, Clarkson University, USA.
The Repercussion Group recently submitted a position paper to the Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) ahead of the 6th International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport scheduled October 2022 in Amsterdam. The Repercussion Group presses for change in the CISG’s mission and organizational structure to recognize truth in science for all delegates to review. The long-term implications of persisting symptoms from repetitive brain trauma have significant importance for the future quality of life of an athlete. The Repercussion Group believes that the traditional ‘wait and see’ approach is no longer ethically tenable.
“Evidence is mounting to the strong associative links between sports related traumatic brain injuries and subsequent neurodegenerative disease.” Dr. Judith Gates, Co-Founder, Head for Change, UK.
The Repercussion Group asks that the CISG highlight available evidence to redefine concussion protocols to reflect the moral, clinical, and scientific realities of patients living with the effects of repeated brain injury in sport. In addition, The Repercussion Group requests CISG new guidelines support initiatives to patient-centered approaches for treatment and care.
“I am the wife and caregiver to a former New Zealand All Black, and advocate for families affected with the repercussions of brain injury. The challenge is lifting up a bulletproof man caught in the rubble with suspected CTE; devastating and bittersweet, sadly, not for the faint-hearted.”, says Irene Gottlieb, Women’s Forum Leader for Concussion in Sport.
Members of the Repercussion Group have published evidentiary data including recent reports that identify plagiarism, duty of care, and growing statistics that support player safety and wellness. The Repercussion Group encourages a person-centered focus in future evidence-based guidelines.
“Clinicians need sports concussion guidelines that discuss the dangers to the brain of contact sports. We all know the benefits.” Elizabeth Sandel, MD, physiatrist and author of Shaken Brain: The Science, Care, and Treatment of Concussion (Harvard, 2020).
MEDIA INFORMATION
Available for Interviews
• Dr. Judith Gates, Co-Founder of Head for Change. judith@headforchange.org.uk
• Stephen T. Casper, Clarkson University. scasper@clarkson.edu
• Professor Alice Theadom, Auckland University of Technology. alice.theadom@aut.ac.nz
• Conor Gormally, Patient Advocate, and Co-Founder, Concussion Alliance.
WEB LINKS
• The Repercussion Group: Office: www.repercussiongroup.com
• ‘White’ position paper submitted to CISG – available via www.repercussiongroup.com/white-paper