SANFL footballer Luke Ivens brings concussion awareness to the Top End
Footballer Luke Ivens’ playing days were severely impacted by concussive head knocks, now he’s spreading awareness about the injury and new headgear that can significantly reduce the risk.
Luke Ivens played 194 games for North Adelaide in the SANFL and while he was a standout in the sport doing what he loved, he was severely impacted by multiple concussion-causing head knocks.
Ivens suffered at least 20 concussions in his 14 years at that level of the sport, including five in a single season when he was 21, forcing him to either retire or take on a helmet to continue playing.
Now, 20 years on, he’s raising awareness across South Australia and more recently in the Northern Territory around concussion safety and new headgear that can mitigate the risk.
“I’ve been going around schools and clubs for the past three years sharing my lived experience with concussions,” he said.
“I had at least 20 but I got a series of scans, and my Sydney-based neurologist said my brain looked more like I had around 50 because of the damage done from the repetitive knocks.”
These sessions saw Ivens visit NTFL clubs and schools to talk about being open about having had concussions and how best to treat it afterwards.
So overwhelming was the response, that he’s already planning his next trip for late November to make sure he gets a chance to talk to all clubs and other schools.
“It’s about the importance of managing concussions as we would an injury and that we’re treating them seriously, now we know about the ramifications,” he said.
“It’s not about the fear factor, I have three sons and I’m hoping they play footy because it gave me so much joy and taught me valuable life skills. My message is about how to manage it if you do get a concussion.
“I wouldn’t change the way I played but I would change the way I managed my concussions. I would have had a lot more time off.
“Another big part is being open and honest about your symptoms, don’t be afraid to tell your teacher or coach if you still have lingering symptoms such as headaches and nausea.
“Look after your teammates too, if you know someone is struggling speak up, they’re not always going to be forthright or they might think it’s brave to play on, but there’s a long life after sport.”
Ivens has now joined the team at SWAARM Global who have developed a headgear that helps mitigate the risk of concussion.
“The headgear is different to what I wore as a player, it’s scientifically designed to reduce the risk of concussion,” he said.
“It works on dispersing energy like car crumple zones so it slows down the impact.
“It isn’t a silver bullet to prevent concussions but can significantly reduce the risk and I’m wanting this to be normalised among juniors.
“As in when kids start playing Auskick it becomes part of the preparation, grab your boots, mouth guard and head gear so it becomes a habit into the future.
“If there’s something that can benefit our kids why wouldn’t we invest in it.”
It has become a large part of his sessions and already is making a difference in South Australia with about 100 juniors at his local club, Mitcham Hawks, alone wearing the full headgear or halo.
The halo is worn like a headband and covers the area of the head where it is estimated that upwards of 85 percent of concussions happen in that region.
“The halo is really taking off in Adelaide because if you’re going from wearing nothing to something the halos are a really good transition to headgear,” he said.
The South Australian company are continuing to innovate in this space and currently have a 20 percent discount for Territorians if they enter the code NT20 at www.swaarmglobal.com.
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Originally published as SANFL footballer Luke Ivens brings concussion awareness to the Top End
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