International meeting underlines importance of attention to repeated head contact for Dutch sportorganisations
The Netherlands Sports Council is working on advice on action perspectives for the prevention and treatment of repeated head contact during sports. To gain international knowledge and experience on this topic, the Council organised an international meeting. Participants represented football, rugby, martial arts and horseracing federations, as well as cross-sport governing bodies.
Those present emphasized that more attention should be paid to raising awareness about the risks among athletes, trainers and other supervisors. Education and training are important, as is attention to sport-specific regulatory adjustments. Consideration for different groups of athletes, such as children or para sports, is also paramount to garner support for any changes. Language in communication is key. There is still a big gap between scientific evidence and the ultimate end user: the athlete. As coaches and athletes are not concerned about long-term health, there must be a focus on short-term risks for a career or team performance. The use of professional athletes and various social media channels can help to disseminate reliable information.
The various sports have been working on measures that contribute to reducing risks in professional and/or grassroots sports. For example, the instrumented mouthguard in rugby is going to provide insight into how often the head of professional rugby players makes an accelerating movement, which could be indicative of sub-concussive brain injury. In horse racing, a lot of attention is paid to registering and treating jockeys after a fall. As jockeys in the UK are self-employed, solidarity between jockeys about returning to racing is important for their personal and each other's safety. There are also provisions in place for income and replacement of a helmet. In European soccer, a multimodal approach has been drawn up that limits heading in younger age groups. By adjusting the game (smaller pitches, lighter balls, etc.), but also by focusing on practicing the heading technique, the federation aims to minimise possible consequences of repeated head impact.
Different countries have developed community guidelines for the recognition and treatment of concussions. In addition to the value of having a player return to the sport after a concussion, this is a public health issue. Agreements between the medical sector and sports organisations can contribute to a clear policy; there should be no difference in, for example, a soccer player or a martial artist resuming their sport.
The Netherlands Sports Council is grateful to those present for their valuable contribution. The examples could support development of measures in other sports, although the Council also asks itself the question to what extent measures have been implemented in the daily practice of elite and grass-roots sports. The advice to the Dutch government will be released mid 2025.