David Luiz incident: Any knock to the head needs to be taken very seriously
Concussions happen regularly in contact sport, but are the doctors doing enough to ensure the safety of everyone impacted by them?
Arsenal back David Luiz of Arsenal had to wear a headband following an injury after a clash of heads with Raul Jimenez of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match on January 29. The writer questions why he was allowed to play on, and only withdrawn at half-time of the match. Picture: Getty Images
The question you have to ask is why people have to get seriously hurt before management wake up and do something about it.
If you have watched or read the news, Arsenal defender David Luiz went up for an aggressive header and basically fractured Raul Jimenez’s skull in an English Premiership game recently.
Alan Shearer, an ex-striker and considered one of the best of his generation, commented on BBC Sport: “Football needs to get real, needs to wake up and needs to get serious. Not next year, not next month, not next week, NOW! We are talking about life and death here.”
Who is the “football” he refers to? Fifa is world football’s governing body, and one assumes this was directed at their management.
If anyone dies on a pitch, management who failed the players should be liable and taken to task.
Old legacy is no excuse for stupidity and if you want to hold that seat at a Fifa management level, then you should take ownership, and by taking ownership you will soon see the right laws getting passed.
Arsenal have been criticised for allowing Luiz to continue playing before taking him off at half- time.
Team manager Mikel Arteta backed his team doctor Gary O’Driscoll by saying: “He knows exactly what to do, he did all the testing. He did all the protocols for him to carry on playing.”
We give doctors too much credit and power and I doubt O’Driscoll would have had crystal ball insight by knowing how much impact it takes to break a skull.
If he knew Newton’s third law of force, he would know that “for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” Basically, Luiz hitting the forehead with enough force to fracture Jimenez’s side skull means that there is a return force.
You also need to remember that the striker’s head was moving in his direction as well, which has its own force, which in turn has an equal and opposite force. Basically, two bulls hitting each other with skull-breaking force.
Arsenal’s manager shrugged it off claiming the doctor knew what he was doing but, let’s be honest, players at that level will do anything to stay on the field.
When it comes to head impacts, you don’t mess around, but he was willing to put his player’s life in his hands.
If he was in the other team, I wonder if the decision would have been the same, to send the player back out with a skull fracture?
Children and adults who play soccer, rugby and other contact sports should not potentially lose their life over silly egotistical calls.
The Arsenal player was substituted and missed the next game, so if the doctor was so accurate, why was he not cleared to play the next game?
Jimenez sadly will be out for up to six months depending on the severity of the fracture.
When a player receives any blow to the head, the brain shakes inside the skull.
David Luiz (centre) of Arsenal bumps his head against Raul Jimenez (left) and Conor Coady of Wolverhampton during the English Premier League match in London on 29 November. Picture: EPA
The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is a 15-point test that assesses mental status. A high GCS indicates a less severe injury.
Eye Opening Response
Spontaneous, open with blinking at baseline – 4 points.
To verbal stimuli, command, speech – 3 points.
To pain only (not applied to face) – 2 points
No response – 1 point.
Verbal Response
Oriented – 5 points
Confused conversation, but able to answer questions – 4 points
Inappropriate words – 3 points
Incomprehensible speech – 2 points
No response – 1 point
Motor Response
Obeys commands for movement – 6 points
Movement to painful stimulus – 5 points
Withdraws in response to pain – 4 points
Flexion in response to pain (decorticate posturing) – 3 points
Extension response in response to pain (decerebrate posturing) – 2 points
No response – 1 point
The problem with concussion is that you might think it is not severe now. Like any bruise it doesn’t look bad immediately but give it some time and the swelling will occur; the same thing happens in a head injury.
The problem with swelling in the brain is that there is not really much space for your brain to expand, so the swelling pushes on nerves that could affect movement, speech, orientation, vision, and memory.
The swelling could cause restriction in blood flow to the nerves which could ultimately damage nerves and cause permanent damage.
This is why people are up in arms about the incident. Luiz should not have been allowed to continue until he went for a thorough check up.
Rugby players in particular, have pre-baseline concussion tests done and when a concussion is suspected, they are ushered off and given an iPad to complete the test again.
If the two tests don’t match up, then he is pulled from play, if he is in the right score area, then he can resume as per normal.
The doctor did his 15-point check, everything seemed normal and in his professional opinion, he could say he did his job.
I can guarantee you if he knew the other player’s skull was fractured, he would have made a different decision purely on the basis of “what if?”
What if it is worse than I thought and he drops down on the field? Is that doctor’s career, and livelihood, really worth it?
If you are keen on taking the GCS assessment, you can find the test on https://www.glasgowcomascale.org/
Sean van Staden
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