Information about Sports Related Concussion and Return to Play Rules in Youth Soccer, Rugby and Handball on Websites of German Sports Clubs (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND Sports-related mild traumatic brain injuries (sports related concussion, SRC) have received increasing attention since neurodegenerative processes have been linked to repetitive SRCs. Return-to-Play (RTP) rules have been established for medical advised return into sports activities after concussion, but it is not clear if these rules also reach the sports clubs and its young athletes. OBJECTIVE In youth sports, athletes and their parents search the internet for advice after SRC. We therefore investigated which websites of German sports associations and clubs in football (soccer), handball and rugby offer information on SRC and RTP rules. METHODS The systematic analysis included websites of local football, handball and rugby clubs in two comparable regions in Southern Bavaria and Lower Saxony. The websites of the regional and the German umbrella associations were also included into the study. Eight criteria of the revised Sport Concussion Consensus Statement served as standard for the evaluation according to the protocol published by Swallow et al. (J Neurosurg Pediatr, 2018). RESULTS No information on RTP rules or the topic “sports-related brain injuries” could be found on any of the clubs’ websites. Only the Bavarian Football Association and the Rugby Association sporadically provided information on the topic. The German umbrella associations in football and rugby take up international documents and regulations of the European and the world associations. No information could be found at the German Handball Association. CONCLUSIONS The topics of sports-related brain injuries and RTP rules are mostly neglected on the analysed Websites. This is remarkable, as there are clearly defined consensus guidelines which are widely accepted in international comparison. Especially in the USA, online information on this topic has become standard.