Concussions end striker’s run

The first time Tom Jackson received a head knock, he was off the football field for a couple of weeks. His second concussion saw him sidelined for several months.

But since recovering from his third traumatic brain injury, the Team Wellington striker has decided to call time on his football career.

The most recent injury happened at a training session in March, when a ball hit Jackson hard in the side of the head as he was sprinting towards it, knocking him to the ground.

‘‘I went flying into the air and landed quite heavily.

‘‘I was sort of just lying there and knowing things weren’t quite right straight away. I had a headache . . . from then on, I just couldn’t concentrate.’’

Jackson is one of thousands of New Zealanders who suffer concussions every year.

Since 2010, ACC has paid out more than $7 million on 5472 claims related to concussions that happened on the football field. Of those, 781 occurred in Wellington, and the majority – 58 per cent – were seen in 10- to 19-year-olds.

From his previous experiences of concussions, and his work in injury prevention at ACC, Jackson knew he needed to seek medical attention.

His GP referred him to traumatic brain injury specialists.

Over the next four months, he experienced ‘‘extreme fatigue’’, headaches, light and noise sensitivity and difficulty concentrating.

His brain injury affected every part of his life. He was off work for a month, before gradually increasing his hours from two a week back up to full time.

‘‘I was sleeping a lot through the day, especially in the first couple of months. My social life pretty much became non-existent, because I couldn’t handle being around people . . . it was just too draining.

‘‘At the time it felt like it was never ending. That was quite a daunting realisation for a period of time.’’

A team of several physiotherapists and an osteopath worked with Jackson on his recovery.

Six months after his injury, life is mostly back to normal for the 30-year-old, who lives in Lower Hutt. But with one key difference – he’s off the football field for good.

The chance of long-term brain damage increases with each concussion, and with a wife and 1-year-old daughter, Jackson felt it was a risk not worth taking.

Jose Figueira, who coached Team Wellington when Jackson was playing for them, was saddened his charge was no longer able to play football, but believed he still had a lot to offer the game through mentoring younger players.

ACC injury prevention leader Nat Hardaker said it was important to follow the ‘‘four Rs’’ of concussion management – recognise (the signs and symptoms of concussion), remove (the person from play or work), refer (to a medical doctor to confirm diagnosis and provide treatment/ advice) and recover (before returning to work or play).