Implementation of the 2017 Berlin Concussion in Sport Group Consensus Statement in contact and collision sports: a joint position statement from 11 national and international sports organisations.

The 2017 Berlin Concussion in Sport Group Consensus Statement provides a global summary of best practice in concussion prevention, diagnosis and management, underpinned by systematic reviews and expert consensus. Due to their different settings and rules, individual sports need to adapt concussion guidelines according to their specific regulatory environment. At the same time, consistent application of the Berlin Consensus Statement's themes across sporting codes is likely to facilitate superior and uniform diagnosis and management, improve concussion education and highlight collaborative research opportunities. This document summarises the approaches discussed by medical representatives from the governing bodies of 10 different contact and collision sports in Dublin, Ireland in July 2017. Those sports are: American football, Australian football, basketball, cricket, equestrian sports, football/soccer, ice hockey, rugby league, rugby union and skiing. This document had been endorsed by 11 sport governing bodies/national federations at the time of being published.

Rugby contact and collisions--clinical challenges of a global game.

Rugby Union (rugby) is a sport that evolved from and resembles other forms of football but is unique in many respects and presents distinctive clinical challenges. This article discusses those aspects of rugby that are different from other sports and those injuries that have specific significance to the game as a result of it being a global collision sport with an increasing focus on serious injury prevention. Injury screening and intervention programs, neck injuries, rugby's contribution to evolving concussion protocols, contact and travel-related illnesses, and rugby's drug intervention protocols are discussed.