Concussion & rugby: Scotland captain Rachel Malcolm's journey, symptoms and recovery from concussion

Female Athlete Podcast

In this episode we speak to Scotland Women's captain Rachel Malcolm around her experiences with concussion.
Concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury and in a contact sport like rugby union, data collected over the past few seasons has found concussion is one of the most common injuries.
In the interview Rachel talks about how rugby union has adjusted its laws to reduce the risk of getting concussed during a game and introduced the Head Injury Assessment (HIA) to enable medical staff to recognise and remove a player from the field of play if they are suspected to have a concussion. However, the HIA isn't used in the women's club game.
Rachel talks us through how she was concussed, the symptoms she experienced and the process she went through to recover, how it affected her life and ability to work, and her return to rugby which in total took her out of the game for six month- a period which she describes were the worst of her life.
In 'Question Time' this week Georgie and Jess answer a question about how best to warm up and cool down after a run.
Resources
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/concussion/
Telegraph Women's Sport Special Report into concussion:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-sport/2019/11/22/special-report-damaging-effects-concussion-sportswomen/
Concussion can kill: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/womens-sport/2020/11/27/concussion-can-kill-worst-thing-can-happento-parent/
We would like to thank our title sponsor for series 2 -Pretty Athletic. Pretty Athletic is a unique skincare brand for active women who sweat. Visit wwww.prettyathletic.com to view the amazing range of products available and use discount code FEMALEATHLETEPOD for 20% off.

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*Disclaimer: Materials and content in the Female Athlete Podcast are intended as general information only and should not be substituted for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment