Volunteers needed for study on the impact of head injuries in rugby

Researchers at the University of South Wales (USW), led by Professor Damian Bailey and supported by the Head for Change charity, are inviting volunteers to take part in a ground-breaking study exploring how repeated head impacts in rugby may affect long-term brain health.

The study will compare brain function and blood flow in retired rugby players who have experienced concussion with an age-, sex-, education-, and fitness-matched control group of non-contact sport participants. The research aims to improve understanding of how repetitive head trauma can influence cognitive health and long-term risks such as dementia.

The team is seeking retired rugby union or league players, male or female, aged 30 to 59, who have experienced at least three concussions. They are also looking for control group participants in the same age range who are active in non-contact sports or fitness, with no history of rugby participation, concussion, or head trauma. Volunteers will be required to visit the University’s Pontypridd Campus twice, with travel expenses reimbursed, to undergo assessments of brain function and overall physical health. All information collected will be anonymised.

Professor Bailey, who leads the Neurovascular Research Laboratory at the University where the research will be conducted, has studied concussion and brain blood flow across multiple sports and age groups. He explained: “We’ve long been interested in how ‘free radicals’— invisible, unstable molecules — in the brains of contact sport athletes can impair blood flow and potentially cause structural damage. Over time, this may contribute to neurodegeneration. Our latest study focuses on an especially important age group: rugby players aged 30 to 59 who have recently retired.”

Previous research from the team includes studies showing that repeated concussion in young elite and retired rugby players can accelerate cognitive decline, and that long-term heading in footballers can affect brain blood flow, impairing cognition and potentially increasing the risk of dementia. The team is currently undertaking similar studies with female footballers and athletes in MMA, Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and boxing.

Professor Bailey is internationally recognised for his expertise and serves on advisory panels for the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the Medical Research Council, and the Sport and Recreation Alliance. He contributed to landmark 2024 policy documents, including the Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite Sport (“If In Doubt, Sit Them Out”) and Concussion in Sport Research Priorities.

Commenting on the study, Co-Founder of Head for Change and former Wales Rugby international, Alix Popham said: “At Head for Change we support ex-players and their families who are affected by neurodegenerative disease as a result of playing rugby or football. I have been diagnosed with probable CTE and early onset dementia myself and I have many friends and former teammates who are suffering. This research is crucial for protecting players today and in the future, improving long-term brain health outcomes and helping to make sport as good for our brains as it is for our bodies.”

If anyone would be interested in putting themselves forward to take part in the study, please email [email protected] or complete an online form.