Knowledge Nuggets

“When my sister and I were competing for Canada, it felt like the whole Indigenous population was on our shoulders,” says Dr. Sharon Anne Firth, a residential school and Indian Day School survivor who went on to compete in 4 Olympic Games. Dr. Firth discusses the topic of mental health, her experience as an Indigenous...

Many coaches are familiar with the risk of concussions in sport, but may be unaware of how to best support an athlete through a concussion. Research shows that coaches can support concussed athletes by understanding their organization’s or school’s concussion protocol, and by actively working with healthcare professionals to support athletes’ concussion recovery.

Concussion diagnosis largely relies on subjective experiences. But new research is being conducted to measure physiological effects of concussion through biomarkers in athletes’ saliva. This approach could change the way concussions are diagnosed and help monitor athletes’ brain health post-concussion.

Neurogenerative disease is more common in former professional soccer players than in the general population. However, disease risk varies by player position and career length, and this pattern has remained consistent for decades. These findings can help inform strategies to reduce head impact exposure for athletes. Follow SIRC on social media as we share stories...

Concussion is a serious concern in contact sports. A New Zealand research team of clinicians, sport scientists, and engineers is exploring the potential of soft-shell headgear and coaching programs that could make sports like rugby safer for all players, and especially youth.

Officials use technology to support decision making in sports such as tennis, basketball and American football. In 2018, the video assistance referee (VAR) was introduced into professional soccer to advise referees of clear and obvious errors during matches. Research shows that the use of VAR significantly increased the accuracy of key match decisions from 92.1%...

Sleep is being increasingly recognized as vital to athletic performance. Neuroscientist Dr. Matthew Walker found that when compared to sleeping 9 hours a night, sleeping 5-6 hours a night increases one’s risk of injury by over 200% over the course of a season.

Many people use the terms sport drink and energy drink interchangeably, but it’s important to recognize that they are not the same. Sports drinks are flavoured beverages that frequently contain carbohydrates, minerals, electrolytes and various other vitamins or nutrients. Energy drinks may contain these ingredients as well, but they also include stimulants such as caffeine....

Going to the gym is beneficial for health, but what if you suffer from intimidation at the gym? Individuals may find the gym overcrowded and equipment confusing to use. You can help ease “gymtimidation” by starting with simple workouts, doing research about equipment and exercises, hiring a personal trainer, or going with a friend.

Wearing a properly fitted mouthguard is important to help prevent mouth and face injuries. Not only can injuries to the mouth and face impact an individual physically, they can also have psychological and social consequences. Research shows that mouthguards reduce injuries to the mouth and face by absorbing impact.