A new consensus? Change in the air as concussion conference begins

‘It doesn’t matter whether you play in the Premier League or a Sunday league, the consensus document shapes the treatment you’ll receive if you’re hit in the head while playing.’ Photograph: Kieran McManus/BPI/Shutterstock

You may not know that the sixth International Consensus Conference on Concussion in Sport is being held in Amsterdam this week. You may never even have heard of the Concussion in Sport Group who are organising it, but if you play rugby, football, ice hockey or any number of other contact or collision sports, then the decisions taken there will affect you.

The work of the conference is to review the latest research into concussions, brain injuries, and the short- and long-term effects of head impacts in sport, then produce a consensus statement about the best ways to diagnose and treat them.