Study finds unsafe attitudes to concussion among amateur rugby players

Around a third of both club and school players incorrectly believed that wearing a scrum cap can prevent a player from getting chronic traumatic encephalopathy

The survey found 46% of club players had experienced a medically diagnosed concussion at least once in their playing career with 16% recording three or more diagnosed concussions. File picture

Unsafe attitudes towards concussion among non-professional rugby players are still prevalent in Ireland, particularly at school level where more than a third said they would play on with a headache from a minor concussion.

New research on the knowledge and attitudes of rugby players in clubs and schools here to concussion and related brain injuries also identified some gaps in relation to coma and the symptoms of concussion.