“It is genuinely groundbreaking. It’s so extensive all this stuff. It’s the first thing that strikes you – there is literally no stone left unturned. I think we all appreciate just how important it is, because concussion within rugby and within lots of other sports is a major problem but for those people who simply want to play rugby on the weekend because they love it want to know that they can be as safe as possible also.”Alastair Eykyn, Journalist and Commentator
TNT Sports takes a deep dive into the Podium-funded multimodal study into concussion being conducted by The Podium Institute at the University of Oxford in partnership with Gloucester Rugby and Gloucester Hartpury.
Watch live as part of The Rugby Breakdown Show on Discovery+ on Friday 6th March at 18.30 or watch below now.
In 11 short minutes, Alastair Eykyn explores in-depth the groundbreaking approaches being employed to develop more objective diagnosis and management of concussion, and subsequently enable improved protective measures.
Hear from the exceptional researchers at the Podium Institute, Ben Jones (Head of Sports Science and Research, PREM Rugby), Steph McNally (Head of Medical, Gloucester-Hartpury), Rhys Hughes (Head of Medical, Gloucester Rugby) and the players themselves as Alastair delves into all aspects of this world-first project –- from the practicalities of delivering a study of this scale, to the never-been-used-before techniques being employed and the considerations being made for scalability of future measures across all levels of the sport – from youth and grassroots to professional.
“No one has ever looked at a brain this close after a potential concussion or looked at the other markers, like the blood and saliva, at this time point.”Dr Sheikh Momin, Neurosurgery Resident and Podium Institute Doctoral Student
The revolutionary multimodal study, funded by Podium Analytics, employs a high-specification mobile functional MRI scanner to image rugby union players immediately after a confirmed or suspected concussion, enabling structural and functional imaging of the brain within a few hours of head impact – a world-first approach.
The Podium Institute for Sports Medicine and Technology is the world’s first independent academic institute focused on the safety and lifelong health of youth and grassroots as well as professional athletes. Its purpose is to inspire and forge evidence-based changes in sport and physical education, and to develop innovative and scalable technologies to monitor, analyse and ultimately prevent sport injury across the 22 million adults and 3 million children who participate in sport annually across the UK, as well as the hundreds of millions who partake in amateur and professional sport internationally.
Podium Analytics is a registered charity (England, Wales and Scotland) with a vision to create a world with more sport and less injury. Founded by Sir Ron Dennis CBE, its mission is to significantly reduce the incidence and impact of sports injury, with a focus on youth and grassroot sport. Podium’s team is made up of hand-picked specialists with proven expertise in business, academia, science, technology and sport, who share in a sense of responsibility for shaping a safer legacy for sport.
SportSmart is the schools and clubs programme from Podium Analytics, which has been developed to support the on-the-ground needs of PE teachers and sports coaches. The programme includes tools, educational information and insights to prevent, monitor and manage injury – all while driving greater understanding of grassroots sport and trialling new protocols in the real world.
