How does playing rugby affect women's brains?
What's the story
A groundbreaking research project has begun at Cardiff University, UK focusing on the effects of repeated head impacts in women's rugby. The study is being led by medical engineers from the university's School of Engineering and world-renowned Brain Research Imaging Centre. Their goal is to create a scientifically-backed head impact assessment protocol for women's rugby, something that has never been done before.
Gender disparity
Research gap
The study comes as a response to the current professional standard for assessing head injuries in women's rugby, which is set at 12% lower than the impact threshold established for men. This discrepancy has raised concerns about a possible gender research gap. The Cardiff University team hopes their work will provide academic insights into the long-term risks of female contact sports and help bridge this gap.
Methodology
Data collection
The research team has been collecting data from the university's female rugby team during training sessions and matches throughout the academic year. This includes impact data from instrumented mouth guards worn by players, cognitive tests, MRI scans, and computer modeling. Dr. Peter Theobald, the project's lead researcher, said this is the first time, to the researchers' knowledge, all four strands of research have been conducted on the same group of people.
Research goals
Not to deter women from playing rugby
Theobald clarified that the aim of the study is not to deter women and girls from playing rugby, but rather to "shed light on the risks so people can make an informed decision." He also noted that while we can look back 10-20 years for data in most research, women's rugby is an exception as it hardly existed. The female brain's vulnerability to concussion is another area of concern.
Player perspectives
Excited study participants
Despite the demands on their time just before exams and an annual varsity match, study participants Cleo Pallister-Turley and Ffion James were excited to be part of the research. They underwent hours-long MRI as well as other imaging scans at Cardiff's BRIC last week. Pallister-Turley said any injury would be worth the game for her, emphasizing her love for rugby and camaraderie with teammates.
Risk assessment
Alarming findings
The study's findings could be alarming as previous research has shown that male rugby players face a 14% higher risk of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) for every additional year played. Freya Butcher, a medical engineering PhD student working on the study, emphasized that simply introducing helmets or changing sport rules won't solve these problems as women's and men's rugby are played differently and their brains are different too.