Mark ‘Spudd’ Carroll, the former Australian NRL great, has recently been in the media spotlight talking about his personal experience of concussion.
Carroll has joined together with Connectivity Traumatic Brain Injury Australia as an ambassador to talk about his concussion experience and the fact that concussions are traumatic brain injuries which need to be taken seriously.
Carroll estimates that throughout his playing career of over 200 first grade games, he may have suffered as many as 57 concussions. His symptoms varied from being violently ill, to headaches, to light and noise sensitivity, right through to the anxiety which he believes is currently affecting his vocal chords.
At the time, there was a mentality that players were tough for playing on if they sustained a hit or knock to the head. For Spudd this meant ‘Never show you’re hurt. Always get up’.
Having played from the age of four through to the age of 32, Carroll has come forward about his experience in the hope of encouraging others to seek medical assistance if they suffer a concussion be that through sport, a fall or even a road traffic accident.
“For any player, any parent, any adults, any person whose fallen over maybe hit their head, maybe played rugby league, maybe played a sport. If you’ve got any concerns, please go and chat to someone about it. Don’t go holding it in here.” Caroll says.
“I’ve come out behind the shield to help some people. And you’re not soft because you’re coming out, and you’re not soft because you’re saying I need help. Thing is, there’s people out there who can help you come out and speak.”
To learn more about the signs, symptoms and red flags of concussion enrol in Connectivity’s free, online Sport-Related Concussion Short Course. It takes approximately 15 minutes and gives you the knowledge required if you are the first on the scene of a concussion injury.
You can hear more of Spudd’s story below.