Concussion Ethics and Sports Medicine

This article critically discusses a set of interconnected ethical issues arising from (i) identification, diagnosis and management guidelines; (ii) issues of conflicts of interest within the profession of sports medicine, and how these may bring about coercive or undue influence in the decisions regarding diagnosis and return to play; (iii) specific problems of same-day return to play for head injured athlete; (iv) reporting and auditing head injuries and what rights athletes might be expected to enjoy in relation to their injury history qua concussion; and finally (v) the extent to which independent match day doctors might address some concerns about conflicts of interest in the contexts of professional sports. We conclude that there is much that sports governing bodies should do to better guide their members in relation to the various processes attending concussion, from injury to (safe) return to play