Concussion in sport - 6 Minute English

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Hello. This is 6 Minute English from

BBC Learning English. I'm Neil.

And I'm Georgina.

When it comes to sport, there's something

for everyone. Do you play

a sport, Georgina?

I used to play in a netball team

years ago. Now I go jogging and

I enjoy swimming too.

Yes, I go jogging sometimes and

I play football, although I'm no Ronaldo!

But some sports, the so-called 'full-contact'

sports like rugby, American football and

boxing are much more dangerous.

Now, the truth about the long-term

effects on players who make a career

taking heavy tackles or punches to

the head is being slowly revealed.

And the issue of safety in sport

was back in the news again

recently when Danish footballer,

Christian Eriksen, collapsed on the

pitch during the 2020 European

football championship.

At the centre of the debate

are worries about possible brain damage

and dementia caused by concussion -

that's a type of traumatic brain injury

caused by a bump or blow to the

head, and the topic of this programme.

Boxing, of course, is one of the most

dangerous sports, and so my quiz

question is about a famous boxer.

Born in 1949, this boxer has

remained mentally and physically

fit despite years of punishment in

the boxing ring. But who am I

talking about? Is he:

a) Muhammad Ali? b) George Foreman?

or c) Mike Tyson?

I'm not a big boxing fan, Neil,

but I'll say b) George Foreman.

OK, Georgina, we'll find out the

answer to that question later

in the programme.

So far, we've been talking about heavy

full-contact sports like boxing, but the

truth is that any sportsperson

can get concussed.

In 2018 hockey player and Olympic

gold medallist, Nicola White, was

involved in a heavy collision with

another player during a

warm-up match.

Here's Nicola telling her story to Paul

Connolly, presenter of BBC World

Service programme, The Inquiry:

I started suffering headaches,

nausea, light sensitivity, noise

sensitivity, my balance was off,

I just felt terrible. I always used to

describe it like I was in Alice in

Wonderland, I just felt in such a

warped world, it just felt

relentless, and it never stopped.

Three years on from that moment

of impact, Nicola is still picking up

the pieces. Despite seeking advice

and treatment from specialists in

the field of head trauma, many of

her symptoms persist.

After the collision Nicola's balance

was off. When something is off,

it's worse than usual.

And off can also mean 'bad', as

in 'this milk smells awful' -

it's gone off!

Nicola felt terrible and her world

was warped - strange and unpleasant.

In fact, three years after the accident,

she was still picking up the pieces -

trying to return to normality

after a crisis or collapse.

Concussion is a problem in many

sports - even those like hockey or

athletics that are not

considered 'full-contact'.

But the dangers involved with

boxing are far greater. In fact, it's

one of the few sports that has

concussion written into the rules.

Yes, that's right. When a boxer is

knocked down, he has ten seconds

to stand up and get his senses

together - if he can't, there's a

good chance he's concussed.

Tris Dixon is a former boxer turned

sportswriter. Here he is speaking to

BBC World Service programme,

The Inquiry, about concussion in

boxing. See if you can spot the

answer to the quiz question

Neil asked earlier:

When you look back through history

and you see that Henry Armstrong,

Sugar Ray Robinson, Muhammad Ali,

Joe Louis all suffered with neurological

problems as they got older - but

what we also need to find out is

why can you have a fighter like

George Foreman, who's now in

his seventies, and is as bright

as a button after two long

hard careers. Why do some

people seem to have a reserve

that has kept them safe later in life?

Tris mentions some famous

boxers who suffered neurological

problems in later life, and another

boxer who's still 'as bright

as a button' - an expression

used to describe someone who's

happy, cheerful, intelligent,

and full of energy.

It seems that some people have

a reserve - a supply of energy

they keep stored up for use in

the future, when it's needed.

OK, Georgina, let's get back

to my quiz question - I'm pretty

sure you know the answer now?

Yes, I think so. Neil asked me

which famous boxer, born in 1949,

was still mentally alert despite

many years of fighting. I guessed

it was b) George Foreman.

Good listening, Georgina!

Thanks, Neil - looks like I'm

as bright as a button today!

Let's recap the vocabulary

from this programme about

concussion - a traumatic brain

injury caused by a knock

to the head.

When something is off,

it's bad or worse than usual.

The adjective warped means

strange and unpleasant.

To pick up the pieces means to

try to return to the ways things

were before a crisis or collapse.

A reserve is a supply of

something that you kept

back until it's needed.

And finally, someone who's

as bright as a button is very

happy and cheerful, intelligent,

and full of energy!

Sounds like our 6 Minute

English listeners to me!

That's all for our investigation

into concussion in sport, but if

you'd like to find out more about

the subject you can listen again to

the whole programme on the

BBC World Service website.

And if you want to grow your

brain power, not get linguistically

concussed, why not join us again

soon for more topical discussion

and useful vocabulary here at 6

Minute English from BBC

Learning English!

Bye for now!

Bye!