When Kilkenny’s Richie Power was taken off on a stretcher after suffering a collision in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship quarter-final against Cork this summer, people realised then, had they not already, that concussion is no longer the preserve of very aggressive professional boxing and American football.
Dementia pugilistica is an old and well-catalogued condition. But only in recent years has it become one of the most serious modern concerns in amateur and professional sport. Players are not honest about it. Coaches ignore it and some people believe that a magic sponge cures it.Nothing could be further from the truth.
According to support group Acquired Brain Injury ABI, concussion is the third most common match day injury. It happens in schools, at club level and in international sport and has become a regular talking point across all codes in which there is physical contact.