Get Your Head Out the Game

Concussion is a common injury that affects much of the general population and can have major long and short-term effects on brain health. Unlike other organs, the brain is protected from our wider immune system, but is still influenced by the varied immune landscape of the meninges, a set of membranes surrounding the brain. Despite the meninges' importance in brain regulation, little is known about the effects of mild concussion on the meningeal immune system and how this may affect post-concussion symptoms. This talk will explore how concussion effects the meningeal immune system and its potential effects on the brain.

This talk will explore what concussion and sport-related traumatic brain injuries (SRTBIs) are, how they can be sustained, post-concussive and chronic symptoms and effects, and current prevention and evaluation methods. Applied cases from both the UK and US regarding football, rugby union, rugby league, American football, and cycling will be presented. Finally, research on Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), male athlete’s experiences of SRTBIs, and differences in the effects of SRTBIs on female athletes will be discussed.

Virtual reality (VR) can be used as a key tool in the training and rehabilitation of athletes at all levels of sport.
Rezzil develops training systems using VR for many different areas of sport, including reactions training, skill acquisition, and post-match visualisations. A wide range of research has been conducted using our software in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan, Aspetar in Qatar, and Emory SPARC. This research includes the treatment of concussion and duty of care after concussion, as well as the rehabilitation of cognitive skills after other injuries.