Towards better detection of sport-related concussion in Australian football

This thesis explores methods to improve the identification of sports related concussion in Australian football. At the professional level, differences in head impact exposure between the sexes were identified. The wearable accelerometer technology, however, was not sufficiently reliable to augment current best practice in concussion screening, which encompasses match review by medical personnel utilising advanced video technology. In community Australian football, monitoring of observable concussive signs with the Head Injury Assessment form, represents a rapid and real-time method to identify players with possible concussion in the absence of experienced physicians, which could be incorporated into training programs for community clubs.