List Mgmt. Welcome to West Coast: Daniel Venables

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Crazy to think we are so far behind the US really
US Sports Science is so far behind us as to be a joke, but the one thing they have sunk millions into is concussion. I’m sure the research is there in other areas, but the concept of what we’d call sports science is so foreign to the vast majority of professional level US athletes. But by god, have they studied concussion.

Sports science in Europe makes the rest of the world look silly too.
 

Aside from the misdiagnosis etc, the most telling thing in that article is:
  • "An investigation is under way into whether McCrory treated players for concussion after 2018 despite an agreed Australian medical ban."
Given Venables injury occurred in Round 9 2019, WHAT THE HELL were the AFL doing still seeking advice from a bloke under a medical ban?
 

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Funny how the big wigs of the AFL spend time in the USA looking at their TV deals with the NFL/ NBA teams but dont think to go get some information on how they are dealing with concussion????

I think going forward the AFL should getting a concussion specialist role for each club that is there game day who can access it a lot better then the game day trainers. That way they can say " hey mate this isn't a good hit lets get you straight to hospital "
 
Haven't had a lot to do with this stuff really but I'm a little staggered at the apparent Australian medical system disconnect in this area from some exposure.
The type of stuff he's doing in the USA is known and available here though in more basic forms of treatment. Not as developed as over there but the theories are known. I've literally seen versions of it in action on infant and childhood stroke victims who go through versions of this to retrain the brain whilst still developing neural pathways and synapses etc, it's not unknown. It is mimicked over here, in this very state, by placing infants and kids in office chairs and spinning them around, constantly changing direction. Tipping them upside down and back on tilt tables, moving toys constantly to make them re-focus and move eyes and reach etc. Years of physical therapy retraining the brain and using Neuroplasticity theory.

Some would know better than me but it seems there are things being done in this area for brain bleeds and damage to infants and children that rarely seem to be applied to the adult population in Australian brain injury cases. There are centres that do it for adults privately but our major "experts" in the Aussie medical system rarely send adults down the full, expensive path and these are the same "experts" the AFL usually goes to. There is a cost/benefit calculation done and admittedly the success is higher whilst the brain is still developing but geeze, I really struggle with some of those calculations in the medical system cost analysis. The calculations affect all the decisions, allocation of money, resources and treatment recommendations in Neuro departments and seem to extrapolate into a diagnosis and treatment regime at the majority of high levels in this field in Australia that regularly don't go the best result possible route. The key I'm told is to diagnose the bleeds early but equally important; to treat with every best available technique as soon as possible. That does appear to be a really major error not only in Daniels case but I suspect throughout the Australian medical system. We'll go through everything for kids to get the best we can in our system but Adults are not given the same level of concern or options is my impression. That is perhaps evolved from a somewhat natural inclination to give kids the best possible outcome and opportunities, combined with cost/benefit evaluation, but in the Neuro field in Australia this has morphed into treatment philosophies that are questionable. In a roundabout connection it's the sort of thing Charlie Teo touches on regularly and fought in his own way regarding Neuro " experts" and philosophies in Australia. There is a problem with the Neuro expert level throughout the Aussie medical system IMHO.

I feel for Daniel because I know the physical symptoms are the ones more easily seen and evaluated. There are however behavioural and cognitive symptoms that are not so easily evaluated or even identified. In many cases not fully realised till later in life.
 
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Venables: doctor, I got a severe traumatic head knock and may have sustained a possible brain injury

West coast medical team: you're fine, go home

AFL medical team: here, take some antidepressants

I am not a lawyer, but as a man in the medical field I would rate Daniels chances of compensation as very, very good

The incompetence here is staggering
 
Medical competence and westcoast

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