PRESS RELEASE - for Embargo until Feb. 3
World Brain Injury Experts to Debate
The Need for a "Female-Specific Concussion Protocol”
for Women Athletes
New York, NY – On March 30, 2023, the international nongovernmental organization, PINK Concussions will host top international brain injury experts in Dublin, Ireland, to debate whether it is time for a Female-Specific Concussion Management Protocol in sports.
This ground-breaking 12th PINK Concussions Summit will be held during the IBIA 14th World Congress on Brain Injury, organized in partnership with Acquired Brain Injury Ireland at the Convention Centre Dublin from 4-5:30 PM GMT.
Founder and Executive Director of PINK Concussions, Katherine Snedaker will moderate this event where top medical experts will debate the changes needed to level the playing field for female athletes.
Should there be "Female-Specific Concussion Management Protocol” in sports?
Should women’s sports teams have to equal access to medical care on the field/pitch as men’s teams?
Should women's sports teams consider modifications in "rule-specific engagement" based on current concussion research?
“For over a decade, PINK Concussions has been advocating for recognition of sex differences in brain injury mechanisms, symptoms, and recovery trajectories to support practitioners in delivering individualized medical care,” said Katherine Snedaker, LCSW, PINK Concussions, “We believe a debate on a female-focused concussion protocol in sport will highlight the updated medical training needed on sex differences in brain injury. This is essential as brain injury is not identical in women and men.”
Back in 2012, the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine issued a position statement stating that “in sports with similar rules female athletes sustain more concussions than their male counterparts. In addition, female athletes experience or report a higher number and severity of symptoms as well as a longer duration of recovery than male athletes in several studies." Research over the last decade has continued to support these findings yet there has been no change in the protocol and care for female athletes.
“World-wide research into female concussion continues to support and strengthen the view that females suffer an increased incidence of concussion compared to males in contact sport. Their symptoms also appear to be more persistent and cognitive defecits more pronounced than males,” said Dr. Marshall Garrett MbChB, L/RAMC, MEWI, MIDF, University of Glasgow School of Medicine, “World Sporting bodies need to acknowledge this difference and make provision for female specific assessment and recovery protocols.”
And while this event focuses on women athletes, PINK Concussions believes the impact will also be broad reaching to girls in youth sports as well as women with brain injuries from accidents, domestic violence, and military service.
Top world experts participating include
From the UK
Willie Stewart MBChB, PhD, DipFMS, FRCPath, FRCP Edin, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
Dr Marshall Garrett MbChB, L/RAMC, MEWI, MIDF, University of Glasgow School of Medicine - see bio below
From USA
From Germany
For tickets and press passes for this debate only, please fill out this form bit.ly/pinkdebate
To register for the four day IBIA conference, https://braininjurycongress.org
Social Media @PINKconcussions @I_B_I_A
Event hashtag #pinkTBI
Contact
Katherine Snedaker, Executive Director, PINK Concussions Katherine@PINKconcussions.org
###
PINK Concussions is the first international nongovernmental organization to focus on female brain injury including concussions from sport, domestic violence, accidents or military service. Based in the USA, Canada, and the UK, PINK Concussions’ mission is to educate the general public as well as civilian and military medical professionals on the sex and gender differences in female brain injury to improve the pre-injury education and post-injury care/support for women and girls. https://www.pinkconcussions.org
The 14th World Congress on Brain Injury will be held March 29-April 1, 2023, at the Convention Centre Dublin, in Dublin, Ireland. Organized by the International Brain Injury Association (IBIA), the World Congress on Brain Injury is the largest gathering of international professionals working in the field of brain injury. The World Congress is being held in partnership with Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. To register for the conference, see https://braininjurycongress.org
Dr Marshall Garrett MbChB, L/RAMC, MEWI, MIDF
Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer
University of Glasgow School of Medicine
Glasgow G51 4TF
Scotland
A Glasgow Medical School graduate in 1984, Marshall trained in Acute Trauma care prior to serving in the Military for a number of years, gaining extensive experience of military trauma and the effects of blast injuries. He has subsequently spent thirty years working as an Independent Medicolegal expert, University Senior Lecturer in Medicolegal Medicine and member of the UK Expert Witness Institute. He has assisted the Courts in more than 35,000 cases and has a particular interest in RTA, musculoskeletal and head and neck injuries and their biodynamics. His current work includes a formal medicolegal opinion on the enhanced risks of mTBI injuries in female rugby players as compared to males, which is being considered “Very Seriously” by World Rugby and has already prompted new educational and supportive care initiatives at the Scottish Rugby Union. A rugby player to Combined Services level until knee injuries suggested it was time to stop, Marshall now pursues salmon with a fly rod whenever possible. He remains a passionate advocate of the benefits of sports participation, but with due consideration of risk, informed consent and the responsibility of governing bodies to prioritise player welfare and brain health.