Sports teacher blogs on concussion and brain injury in sport

Nasir Uddin is a Lecturer in Sport and Exercise Science at City and Islington College’s Centre for Applied Sciences. In the college, Nasir (a former sports science student himself) teaches and guide students studying for their Access to Higher Education and Level 3 Extended Diploma Sports Science qualifications.

As a practitioner of combat sports, he is also working on a PhD, studying the changes in the brain and periphery in relation to both concussion and dehydration in combat sports. He has written a blog An Introduction to Concussion within Combat Sports, in which he explains more about this important issue.

As Nasir explains: “Although my blog focuses on concussion in combat sports like boxing, Mixed Martial Arts and kickboxing, concussion can occur in any sport which involves physical contact, like rugby or football.

“My main take-away from the blog, would be for people who play sports, as well as parents and coaches to be more brain-aware and think about how they can minimise the risk to themselves when they play. Things like strengthening the neck muscles and understanding that helmets are not designed to prevent concussions, rather they exist to prevent skull fracture, so to not drop your guard and be relaxed about taking shots to the head or aiming head first into tackles.

“I have a personal interest in the subject too. Back in 2015, I’d suffered from a seven-day long migraine and in 2015, had to have a CT scan on my brain. Doctors diagnosed a cyst, which they are still monitoring. While neither my doctors nor I can say how I got the cyst or if my sporting activities contributed to me getting it, it has definitely made me think a lot more about my brain’s health.

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