Ryan reveals he has epilepsy
August 22, 2002

Gloucester coach and former England forward Dean Ryan has revealed he is suffering from epilepsy, a condition he believes has been brought on by head injuries he suffered during his playing career.

The Times newspaper details how the former Wasps, Newcastle, Bristol and England forward carried on playing unaware of the brain damage he had sustained. In particular Ryan points to the occasion he was knocked out three times in a week in the hectic run-in to Newcastle's championship-winning season in 1997-98.

The medical result was dozens of partial seizures over a three-year period that were not correctly diagnosed. He suffered a serious epileptic fit on September 6 last year, has not driven since and lives on medication. Ryan, 36, now believes that a mandatory testing policy across the Zurich Premiership is vital.

A revolutionary test available on the internet is expected to be adopted by England's leading clubs and the RFU over the next few months, which should help to minimise the side-effects of concussion.

A new system of psychometric testing known as CogSport is being analysed by the RFU, which is shortly to send new guidelines to clubs to deal with concussed players. Dr Simon Kemp, the RFU's head of medicine told the newspaper, "The three critical areas the guidelines address are how to accurately identify a concussed player during a match, how to ensure that their immediate management is correct, ie, who should be removed from the field of play and when is it safe for the player to return to play."

CogSport is already being used by Gloucester, whom Ryan joined this summer as coach. There he is working with Dr Rob Mackay, the club's medical officer. Dr Mackay said, "Concussion is rather a vague term, but there has been a tendency perhaps to try to conceal concussion."

CogSport was devised by Paul McCrory, a consultant neurologist from Melbourne. Under the system an initial test is conducted at the start of the season; if a player sustains a head injury he is tested again and the results compared. Tests include recognising playing cards and matching patterns, which help to measure concentration, reaction times and ability to solve problems.

Live Sports

Communication error please reload the page.