The Football Association have released guidelines on dealing with players with concussion.

‘If in doubt, sit them out’

Footballers who sustain a suspected concussion, either during training or in a game, should immediately be removed from the pitch and not allowed to return, until the appropriate treatment has been administered.

Concussion Symptoms Reported:
-Headache or “pressure” in head.
-Nausea or vomiting.
-Balance problems or dizziness, or double or blurry vision.
-Bothered by light or noise.
-Feeling sluggish, hazy, foggy, or groggy.
-Confusion, or concentration or memory problems.
-Just not “feeling right,” or “feeling down”.

That is the message at the heart of new guidelines launched today by The FA for managing head injuries at all levels of the game.

Available as both a free-to-download digital document and online resource via The FA and County FA websites, the guidance is based on evidence and best practice from around the world, and includes key information on how a concussion should be managed from the time of injury through to a player’s safe return to football.

The advisory guidelines have been designed for those who manage head injuries in professional and grassroots football - from clubs and schools, to parents and doctors.

Dr Ian Beasley, The FA’s head of medical services, believes the guidelines will play a crucial role in ensuring the better management and care of head injuries across football in England, thereby making the game safer for more players at every level.

He said: “The paramount priority for The FA is player safety, and so the publication of these concussion guidelines is integral to achieving an unprecedented high level of care and safety for players at all levels. Playing football has been shown to promote good health, and so by making the game safer, we will hopefully increase participation and thereby boost the health of the nation.”
The guidelines were developed in consultation with The FA’s Expert Panel on Concussion and Head Injury, which was set-up in April 2015, and tasked with advising the organisation on issues surrounding concussion.

Dr Willie Stewart, consultant neuropathologist and honorary clinical associate professor at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, is also on the expert panel.

He said: “They are a fantastic development from The FA, and are a good example of their commitment to providing a safer game for participants at all levels of football, and hopefully they have the potential to impact on sport in England as a whole".

Read more at http://www.birminghamfa.com/news/2015/nov/the-fa-release-new-concussion-guidelines#GcVEiDhwWaFStLeX.99

Concussion Guidelines - Download / Open