As part of Vikings Rugby Club continues care for the health and well-being of its athletes, Concussion Management is established to manage head injuries and fully endorsed by Board of Directors, Coaches and Trainers.
Post Concussion Protocol
- If an athlete is suspected of having sustained a concussion, they will be removed from the field of play and evaluated by the “trainer”.
- If it is determined that they have sustained a concussion, the athlete will not be permitted to return to play that day.
- The athlete must receive clearance from a medical doctor to return to the field; this will be done after the athlete’s symptoms have fully resolved and are not reproduced by daily activities.
- The athlete’s first practice back will be a non contact
- If at any time the athlete starts to develop symptoms, they will stop practice and start the recovery process again.
- The next practice will be controlled contact, and at an overall higher intensity than first practice.
- The next practice will be a full contact practice.
- The athlete will be re evaluated using the SCAT3 prior to returning to game play and only after all the above steps have been completed
- The athlete will be monitored during the first game back and will be evaluated again after the game.
Important Documents
- Emergency Action Plan – Roles and responsibilities during an emergency at Thompson Rugby Park.
- Post Concussion form – Guideline for Immediate Care of a Concussion
- Rugby Ontario Serious Injury Notification Report – This report is to be completed for any suspected head, neck or spinal cord injury that occurs in a match or organized training session and requires the athlete to cease participation in said event.
Related Links
- World Rugby Player Welfare: http://playerwelfare.worldrugby.org
- Rugby Canada PlaySmart: http://playsmart.rugbycanada.ca
- Rugby Ontario Player Safety / Welfare: http://www.rugbyontario.com/fr-ca/highperformance/playersafetywelfare.aspx
- Rowan’s Law: http://rowanslaw.ca
- Bill 149, Rowan’s Law Advisory Committee Act, 2016: http://www.ontla.on.ca/web/bills/bills_detail.do?locale=en&BillID=3596