Protecting our players | Investigating concussion in sport

Led by Professor Damian M. Bailey, the Neurovascular Research Laboratory has become a national and international leader in concussion research, helping to transform how head injuries in sport are understood, prevented, and managed.

Sports-related concussion affects nearly four million people worldwide each year. While often described as ‘mild’, recurrent concussive and sub-concussive impacts can have profound, lifelong consequences, including memory impairment, depression, suicide risk, stroke, and neurodegenerative disease. Historically, awareness and guidance—particularly in grassroots sport—have been fragmented and inconsistent, leaving players, parents, and coaches without clear direction on removal from play or safe recovery. This gap has underscored the urgent need for robust, evidence-based guidance grounded in physiology.

Ground-breaking work from Professor Bailey’s team has demonstrated that concussion may accelerate biological brain ageing, substantially increasing vulnerability to long-term neurological disease. The laboratory has identified novel neurovascular and biological markers of injury, alongside potential neuroprotective strategies, including important sex-specific differences that are now reshaping how concussion risk is conceptualised. Supported by partners including Head for Change, this research has extended far beyond the laboratory—driving national media coverage, public engagement, and informed debate around player safety.

Most importantly, this body of work has directly shaped national policy. Professor Bailey was a select expert convened by the UK Government and the Medical Research Council, contributing to two landmark policy documents published in 2024: Concussion in Sport: Research Priorities and If in Doubt, Sit Them Out—UK Concussion Guidelines for Non-Elite (Grassroots) Sport. For the first time, grassroots sport across the UK now operates under a unified, evidence-based framework for recognising concussion, removing players from play, and managing return-to-play decisions.

The impact has been tangible and immediate. Coaches and referees are now better trained to recognise concussion symptoms, governing bodies have implemented rule changes such as lowering tackle height in rugby union, and medical teams report greater vigilance and earlier clinical assessment. Crucially, players themselves are increasingly seeking timely care—shifting norms away from concealment and toward protection.