Your Brain Health - Progress in Concussion Care

As we continue to learn more about concussion it is important that we also educate the community at the same time.

Nowadays, concussion is headline news. This is good news in terms of a greater awareness about brain health, but it also brings an element of sensationalism and inaccuracy to some of the information released.

It is useful for the community to be aware of the big picture. This allows people to evaluate and consider what aspect of the information is important to them. In addition, health professionals with experience and an interest in concussion need to provide regular updates to all health professionals on how concussion management can be improved. Concussion is  extremely common, and has been described as the ‘silent epidemic’ ¹.  When you take this into consideration, sharing this information makes sense if we are to truly make an impact.

We believe the big picture is an ‘End to end Concussion Management Pathway’ that ensures a comprehensive view of concussion that moves beyond the scope of medical, hospital and specialist allied health services. Concussion care incorporates parents, teachers, coaches, trainers, first-aiders, researchers, technology designers, employers, employees, and the list goes on….

The ‘End to end Concussion Management Pathway’ is broad and inclusive, and while the people and professionals involved in each stage can vary in different countries and cultures, the five stages remain the same.

1.  Prevention & Preparation
2.  Acute Management
3.  Early Interventions
4.  Persistent Symptom Management &
5.  Ongoing Care & Rehabilitation

Please have a look out our short video about the ‘End to end Concussion Management Pathway’ which we believe forms the basis of what we currently understand and where progress is heading.

Dr James McLoughlin, BAppSc, MSc, PhD

Advanced Neuro Education

1. Thomas, E., Fitzgerald, M. & Cowen, G. Does Australia have a concussion “epidemic”? Concussion 5, CNC70 (2020).