Frequency of concussions reported by rugby players from the Gimnasia y Esgrima club

Introduction. Concussions (CC) are a subset of traumatic brain injuries that cause functional impairment in the brain. They occur mainly in contact sports and can also happen repeatedly, with rugby being a sport with a higher probability than others due to the characteristics of the game. The clinical manifestations of CTE can be grouped into four main domains: physical-somatic symptoms, emotional function, cognitive function, and sleep habits. Symptoms may appear hours or days later and still indicate a CB. Objective. To determine the frequency of rugby players who have suffered a CB during sports practice, investigating the care and return-to-play protocols applied in a timely manner. Materials and methods. Quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study. It included male federated players from the senior rugby team of Club Gimnasia y Esgrima de Rosario, Santa Fe province (Argentina) who participated in the 2018-2021 season games. Survey via Google Form (structured online questionnaire). Results. Age range: 18-40 years. Fifty-eight per cent of players reported having suffered a concussion during sports practice; 25% stated that, suspecting a concussion, they avoided medical attention so as not to be removed from the game. Most frequent immediate symptoms: headache (45%), dizziness (41%), blurred vision (37%), loss of consciousness (26.5%), balance disorders (24%) and memory disorders (22%). After examinations at the site of the concussion, almost half of the players had to be referred to an emergency centre for neuroimaging diagnosis, and half of them needed to be admitted for observation. One in three players affected by concussion did not complete the minimum recovery stages before returning to training. Conclusion. In our experience, it affected almost 60% of the players surveyed. The most common immediate symptoms were headache (45%), dizziness (41%) and blurred vision (37%), which were the three most frequently reported symptoms.