Researcher questions reliance on pitchside concussion assessments

A leading medical expert on concussion in sport has cast doubts on rugby’s current reliance on Pitch Side Concussion Assessments (PSCAs) to determine whether players suspected of taking blows to the head should be removed from play.

Dr Michael Turner is the founder of the International Concussion & Head Injury Research Foundation (ICHIRF), a research initiative established to examine the long-term effects of concussion on those who have competed in contact sports.

With 40 years of sports medicine experience in skiing, horse-racing, and tennis, Dr Turner is also a member of the International Concussion in Sport Consensus group and a co-author of the landmark 2012 Zurich Concussion Consensus Statement.