adminLONDON. — The unknown risks of youth rugby need urgent assessment to ensure the safety of junior players, a leading British brain doctor said yesterday.
Writing in the respected BMJ British Medical Journal, Michael Carter, a paediatric neurosurgeon at the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, argued that “rugby sidesteps many safeguards intended to ensure pupil well-being” and called on schools, clubs, medical facilities and regulatory bodies to work together to investigate the risks of junior rugby.
Carter’s concerns echo worries expressed by health experts about injuries in professional rugby and other contact sports such as boxing and American football, where evidence suggests multiple knocks to the head can cause brain damage and lead to dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases.
In British schools where rugby is played, some children start at age eight, and by age 10 are engaging in “contact” rugby, which carries a greater risk of injury, Carter wrote.
He said injuries can be avoided if children are taught the right sporting skills, but cautioned that not all young players learn them, and noted that children at this age are often vastly different weights and sizes.
Describing what he said was a “quick check with neurosurgical colleagues” in the UK, Carter said they reported at least 20 children’s rugby injuries over the past decade that needed neurosurgical consultation or intervention — including two deaths, four or five serious spinal fractures and several depressed skull fractures, with varying degrees of brain injury.
“Schools, coaches and parents all contribute to a tribal, gladiatorial culture that encourages excessive aggression, suppresses injury reporting and encourages players to carry on when injured,” he wrote. — AFP.
Online Reporter