concussion

Kalyn Ponga off to Canada for treatment amid concussions

The Knights co-captain's immediate playing future has been in serious doubt since he knocked himself out attempting a tackle early in the round-two win over Wests Tigers.

The concussion was Ponga's fourth in 10 months and provided a final push for the NRL to change its head-injury protocols, mandating an 11-day lay-off for any player who suffers a head knock.

NRL strengthens concussion protocols

The Australian Rugby League Commission approved the new rule on Tuesday, the same day the Australian Football League was hit by a class action from dozens of former players over alleged damage to their health from concussions.

The new requirement, which applies to concussions diagnosed at training and during games, takes effect from the start of the third round of the NRL championship this weekend.

Dementia sufferers start legal proceedings

London-based law firm Rylands Legal is representing the claimants, which include England's World Cup-winning hooker Steve Thompson, former All Black Carl Hayman and ex-Wales captain Ryan Jones.

Many players in the group of more than 180 professional and semi-professional players have also been diagnosed with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, epilepsy, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease.

Rylands said the class action is being issued on behalf of the majority of those players, with the rest taking legal action soon.

Changes on the cards as UK government steps in to tackle concussion in sport

Developed by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the plan vows to develop “new protocols” for all sports, ranging from the grassroots to the elite level, while a research forum will be set up to address what it sees as “knowledge gaps” in the current system.

“The plan sets out steps that will be taken to improve understanding, awareness, prevention and treatment of concussion in sport in grassroots, educational and elite settings,” the DCMS said in a statement. “This will be through a combination of improved research and the use of new technologies.

Spit test could be way of the future for concussion testing

A three-year research project involving more than a thousand professional men's rugby players found the biomarkers can show if a player is concussed, and also how a player's body is responding to the trauma several hours to several days later.

"Crucially, the differences in the salivary concentration of these biomarkers are measurable within minutes of injury, which means we can make rapid diagnoses," said Antonio Belli, a professor of trauma neurosurgery at Birmingham University who co-led the study.

Concussion rates down at Rugby World Cup

The tournament in Japan was the first World Cup to introduce World Rugby's "high tackle framework" - the step-process of decisions referees must consider when analysing a potentially dangerous tackle - which is designed to reduce the risk of head injuries by "changing player behaviour from high-risk upright to lower risk bent-at-the-waist tackles".

In a statement World Rugby said there was a 28% reduction in the overall incidence of concussion and a 37% drop in tackle concussions at the tournament compared with the average figures from elite events two years ago.

Chiefs hooker Liam Polwart retires aged 24 from rugby due to concussion issues

Polwart, 24, announced this morning he woun't take part in next year's Super Rugby season after deciding it wasn't worth the risk.

“It has been a difficult decision to make to leave the game I love," Polwart said.

"It has provided me with plenty of great friendships and some awesome experiences. I have had some on-going issues with concussion, and while I am currently symptom free, I chosen to hang up my boots and not to put myself at further risk.