Guidelines aimed at preventing concussion injuries: Government program to implement rules keeping players from returning to action too soon


Amateur football players in B.C. will be a head above the rest come Tuesday, when the sport’s provincial governing body implements a new program of safety guidelines aimed at preventing concussion-related injuries.

Football BC will require all of its member associations, including private clubs, high schools and universities, to comply with the new program.

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Modelled closely on a trailblazing return-to-play law passed in Washington state in 2009, it’s the first of its kind for amateur sport associations in B.C.

“We are a lot more aware of concussions because of the people who have come before us 10 years after they have played,” said Dino Geremia, the technical director of Football BC.

“They have short-term memory loss, headaches and migraines as a result of those years playing football, and a lot of it was because they played in spite of the concussion[s]. Hopefully with this policy we avoid these long-term effects.”

For the coming season, parents and young athletes must sign a consent form acknowledging the risk of head injury. Coaches will be trained on the symptoms, treatment and associated risks of head injuries, and will be mandated to bench any player suspected of having a concussion. Athletes who are taken out of a game owing to a head injury must provide the coach with a letter from a medical doctor clearing them to resume play.

The program was developed by ThinkFirst Canada, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preventing brain and spinal-cord injuries, with the support of the B.C. Lions.

Geremia said the program puts the onus of compliance on the regional associations, but it will take all those involved, including parents, coaches, players, first-aid attendants and doctors, for it to work.

“We will educate on the importance of this policy. Coaches ultimately will get to understand that it’s not about the next game, but the player’s future,” Geremia said.

“It helps the parents and kids understand concussions are a serious matter. Most kids want to come back and play, but they don’t think about what could be wrong with them,” said Levan Francis, 40, a coach for the North Delta Longhorns association, who attended a Football BC seminar Saturday at Douglas College.

Guest speaker Dr. Brian Hunt, a retired neurosurgeon and B.C. director of ThinkFirst, said concussions can cause a variety of symptoms such as headaches, confusion, nausea, loss of coordination, blurred vision, emotional changes, and sometimes loss of consciousness.

“You just need enough shaking and jarring of the brain to produce one of those symptoms. You don’t need to be knocked unconscious or even strike your head — a whiplash type of injury is all you need,” Hunt said.

Repeated concussions are particularly debilitating and long-term effects such as early-onset dementia and Parkinson’s disease have been linked to them, Hunt said.

Hunt said his biggest concern, having worked with many injured amateur athletes during his career, is parents who ignore their children’s physical and emotional warning signs.

He also said that with increased awareness of concussion-related risks comes increased liability.

“If the child goes back into competition before he or she is ready and suffers another brain injury then there is a potential lawsuit for the doctors and coaches,” Hunt said.

Hunt and Geremia believe two things have contributed to an increase in reported concussion-related injuries: better awareness in the medical community and the emergence of bigger, faster and stronger athletes. Public awareness has increased, too: Vancouver sports fans have recently seen popular professional athletes such as defenceman Willie Mitchell of the Vancouver Canucks and former B.C. Lions quarterback Buck Pierce suffer debilitating and potentially career-threatening concussions.

While the B.C. government has not introduced any laws to protect amateur athletes, some American states have been working with the National Football League to reduce the risks of head injuries.

Washington’s Lystedt law was named after Zackery Lystedt, a high-school football player who, during a 2006 game, kept playing after suffering a concussion. After sustaining another hit, he collapsed and suffered traumatic brain hemorrhaging, and is now permanently disabled.

On May 24, Roger Goodell, the NFL Commissioner, sent letters to 44 state governors asking them to pass a similar law.

Former Simon Fraser University Clansmen safety Scott Kehoe, 28, said the proactive approach from the NFL and Canadian Football League is something he’s noticed over the past five years.

” When I first started [playing football 18 years ago] and you had a concussion it was just another injury, like if you turned an ankle. You sucked it up and went back out and played, whereas now, with the technology and medical understanding we have, things have changed,” said Kehoe.

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