Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

To avoid concussions, Tua Tagovailoa now focuses on carbs and fluids

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 5d

#concussion solved!

www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profootb...

On Monday night, Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa took a blow to the head while sliding.

www.nbcsports.com

Shane Christie, Billy Guyton and the brain injuries behind two rugby deaths

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 7d

My latest #concusison paper, currently under peer review, but can viewed as a preprint here.

Long-Term Cumulative Effects of Repeated Concussions in #Cyclists - Alan J Pearce, Doug King
www.preprints.org/manuscript/2...

www.preprints.org

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 10d

archive.md/GHaDu

archive.md

Reposted by Alan Pearce

Jacob Whitehead @jacobwhitehead.bsky.social · 11d

Billy Guyton and Shane Christie were Super Rugby players — and best mates. Both lost their lives to suicide after suffering head injuries.

Spoke to their families about the answers that exist, and whether they're being introduced quickly enough.

www.nytimes.com/athletic/666...

They were best friends, who took their own lives, after the same career, within three years of each other and their families have questions

www.nytimes.com

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 11d

[Jonas] Vingegaard crashed at Paris-Nice. He did not compete for the next two months after suffering a #concussion, criticising the race doctors for not providing a head injury assessment after he fell, and allowing him to complete the remaining 84km of the stage.
www.nytimes.com/athletic/666...

A year on from Muriel Furrer’s death, is cycling’s attitude to safety shifting?

A sport that witnesses death too often needs change. There is no shortage of ideas but right now there is a lack of consensus

www.nytimes.com

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 12d

Dr Daniel Daneshvar, chief of brain injury rehabilitation and associate professor at Harvard University, said even a low-stage diagnosis of #CTE could be responsible for "behavioural changes and impulse control problems", which often progressed with age.

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09...

Examiners confirm gunman who blamed NFL for brain injuries had CTE

Medical examiners confirm the gunman who blamed the NFL for hiding brain injuries had CTE, after he left a note asking for his brain to be studied.

Leigh Matthews lashes AFL ‘bozos’ after key Cat Stewart ruled out of grand final

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 16d

'I see retired AFL players who don’t remember their grand final day’
A leading sports neuroscientist has rubbished renewed calls to move the bye round to before the AFL grand final–following one of Geelong’s biggest stars being ruled out because of concussion
www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/afl/i-...

www.theaustralian.com.au

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 19d

Former players turned commentators: #Concussion is a serious issue and player safety is important

Also: C'mon, we need to change the schedule so we can rush a player back from a *brain injury* to play for the cup

www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/to...

Prominent footy figures join the push for a pre-grand final bye after a devastating concussion ends Tom Stewart’s season. Leigh Matthews says it’s only matter of time before the AFL’s “slow-moving bur...

Stewart concussed in preliminary final, will miss the grand final if Cats make it

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 20d

"The incident involving Tom Stewart will reignite the debate around the pre-finals bye and whether it should be switched to the week before the grand final."

We seem to value limb injuries more than brain injuries. #concussion

www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/st...

The incident involving Tom Stewart will reignite the debate around the pre-finals bye and whether it should be switched to the week before the grand final.

AFL, Cats fail in bid to quash concussion class action

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · 29d

"A landmark #concussion class action against the AFL and Geelong has been cleared to proceed, as the Cats were warned they could have up to 300 players who suffered brain injuries."
www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/af...

A landmark concussion class action against the AFL and Geelong has been cleared to proceed, with the two parties given a sobering warning of how many players could eventually be involved.

West Coast Eagles star posthumously diagnosed with CTE

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Sep 5

Journal of Neurotrauma flag 6 papers on q-collar brain "protection" device as expressions of concern.
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Sep 1

[Bugner’s] career spanned 32 years ended in 1999, by which time he had relocated to Australia, where he spent the final years of his life in a care home after being diagnosed with dementia

www.news.com.au/sport/boxing...

www.news.com.au

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Aug 28

West Coast Eagles player Adam Hunter posthumously diagnosed with #CTE

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

An examination of AFL premiership player Adam Hunter's brain, donated for research by his family, confirms he was suffering from chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Concussion recovery periods may be too short, new brain study suggests

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Aug 18

#Concussion recovery periods may be too short, new brain study suggests.

A study involving athletes who suffered concussion has found just how long it seems it takes for the brain to recover — and it has led to a neuroscientist raising some serious concerns.

links.streem.com.au/herald-sun-2...

A leading neuroscientist has raised concerns about the length of mandatory concussion recovery periods after new research suggested the clearing of symptoms may not accurately reflect full brain recov...

links.streem.com.au

'Don't think anyone wanted to play': Head knock ends NFL clash early

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Aug 9

Loss of consciousness, 20 minutes of treatment, match called off, but still called a 'head knock'.

#Media, do better please
#concussion #notaheadknock

@abcnewsbot.bsky.social

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-08...

Detroit's Morice Norris is stable and moving his extremities after being taken to hospital following a frightening head knock during an NFL preseason game between the Lions and Atlanta Falcons.

'I'm not anti-sport, I'm pro-athlete': Meet the expert calling out reckless sporting codes and deadly trends - ABC Pacific

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jul 31

From From Run It Straight trends to #concussion as toughness, we're normalising #brain trauma for our kids

ABC Pacific Pulse @abcnewsbot.bsky.social

#cte #braindamage #podcast #abcnews #Australia

www.abc.net.au/pacific/prog...

As viral trends like Run It Straight and backyard boxing grow in popularity, Pearce warns that society is becoming increasingly comfortable with brain trauma and that’s putting young people at risk.

Country footballers desperate for concussion treatment book out clinic

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jul 22

"Community clubs around Victoria and Australia really need to be developing relationships with their local #concussion clinics and doctors in order to be able to look after their players properly,” concussion researcher Dr Pearce said

www.abc.net.au/news/2025-07...

@abcnewsbot.bsky.social

Jeremy Rodi would forget how he spent the day before seeking treatment for concussion. Now a treatment clinic has opened in his home town of Bendigo in regional Victoria.

Whatever happens to Steven May, response to bump shows language and attitudes are changing

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jul 21

Why is it that credit for change towards concussion/CTE is always given to "former players" or the AFL rather than the scientists who actually did the work and advocated for change? #Askingforafriend

www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/de...

It’s now up to the tribunal to decide Steven May’s fate after his sickening collision with Francis Evans. But there was ample evidence in the aftermath that attitudes about these types of incidents ha...

Teen left with debilitating condition after horror bus crash

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jul 19

But according to neurophysiologist Alan Pearce, they're not alone, "I see this alot with athletes who have a #concussion, as well as another injury, and that other injury tends to get prioritised, and the concussion gets overlooked."

#postconcussionsyndrome

youtu.be/iRVMpoB2mjY?...

YouTube video by A Current Affair

youtu.be

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Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jul 4

"Yet for all the progress [on concussion] made by many sports in recent years, it feels like we still have not fully grasped the understanding of CTE – or maybe we don’t want to."

My new opinion piece in The Conversation Australia

theconversation.com/ive-seen-the...

I’ve seen the brain damage contact sports can cause – we all need to take concussion and CTE more seriously

If more isn’t done to combat concussion and chronic traumatic encephalopathy, more families will be grieving tragic deaths.

theconversation.com

Run It Straight: The push to turn a backyard tackle game into a global sport

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jun 29

Neuroscientist Pearce argues RunIt magnifies "the most violent aspects of our established sport", while safety protocols do little to minimise any risk. "[They're] basically using the collision as the entertainment value, which is, in effect, commercialising #concussion"
www.bbc.com/news/article...

As hype over the game grows, so do concerns about the potential for brain injuries.

www.bbc.com

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jun 23

"Dr Alan Pearce has been outspoken about his thoughts on netball's concussion policies before, which have recently been tightened. Now there is an independent concussion observer at each game, plus a team doctor."

Your welcome...
#netballchaos

@abcnewsbot.bsky.social
www.abc.net.au/news/2025-06...

Defenders cop ball to the face, as dangerous play rears its head in Super Netball

If World Netball wants to protect players and eliminate contact with the head, then it needs to stamp out attackers pushing the ball into the face of their opponents.

‘Unfortunate’: Paul Green’s family respond to Billy Slater

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jun 19

"[Ms Green] appealed for the major sporting codes to do more to educate people about the disease, while also moving to better protect young athletes and calling for more support for the Australian Sports Brain Bank." (Gift article)

www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/nrl/i-...

www.theaustralian.com.au

Alan Pearce @alanpearcephd.bsky.social · Jun 18

“The Green family are determined to educate the public that Paul died as a result of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (#CTE) and not as a result of a battle with depression, as implied by Slater in his press conference in Perth on Tuesday”
www.theage.com.au/sport/nrl/i-...

Paul Green’s brother has addressed Billy Slater’s controversial comments, accepting the Maroons coach’s apology despite the family’s disappointment with the situation.