Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast

Dr Reece Granger BSc (Hons), BChiro

Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast, discusses all things concussion. From the physiology, effects, treatment and rehabilitation process. All with the aim of providing the tools and education to help patients. DISCLAIMER: All information discussed and provided is not a substitute for professional medical advice of doctors or healthcare practitioners. If a listener believes they are suffering from a similar injury to one discussed by the author, please seek medical care of your doctor or physician and do not rely on the author's advice.

  1. 2 days ago

    Monologue: Comparison of the Updated A-League Concussion Policies

    Send us Fan Mail In October the A-Leagues raised their minimum concussion stand-down from eight days to twelve. It came five years after the AFL and three and a half after the NRL, and it was announced the night before the season opener with nobody quoted. Starting with 18-year-old Will Dobson playing on after a two-minute check, this monologue looks at why football took so long and who actually controls the game’s concussion rules. It then sets the A-Leagues against the AFL and NRL on independent spotters, off-field assessments and cover for concussed players. It finds that twelve days brings football level on the stand-down, but it still trails the other codes on everything that decides whether a concussed player leaves the field in the first place.    1:55 - William Dobson’s head injury and the questions it raises about on-field assessment. 3:46 - What changed in the new policy, including return-to-play requirements. 5:37 -A separate rule change addressing time-wasting when a goalkeeper is injured. 7:32 -Why the A-League took longer to change its policy, with a look back at earlier reviews. 11:23 -Comparing stand-down periods across the A-League, AFL, NRL and rugby. 12:43 -How football’s governing structure may slow concussion-rule changes. 18:12 -The debate over temporary concussion substitutes and longer head-injury assessments. 24:03 -Recent A-League head-injury examples and concerns about match-day assessments. 26:55 -Why the 12-day policy announcement attracted little attention. 28:52 - Comparing how the A-League, NRL and AFL monitor and manage head injuries. 34:34 - Remaining gaps, including short on-field assessments and repeated head impacts. 36:55 - Three proposed steps for the A-League: explain the policy publicly, add independent medical oversight, and publish data. 38:17 - Closing thoughts on the policy’s progress and what still needs to change. Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  2. 3 Nov

    Is It Cheating? The Ethics of Sport with Dr Javi López Frías

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Francisco Javier López Frías, an Assistant Professor of Kinesiology and Health Sciences at Utah State University. Trained in philosophy at the University of Valencia, where he earned his PhD in Philosophy, Ethics and Democracy, Javi is internationally recognised for his work on the ethics of sport, particularly doping, human enhancement technologies and the “spirit of sport”.  With more than 100 academic publications and over 1,000 citations, he is one of the leading voices in his field.   02:30 – Journey into Sport, Ethics and Philosophy  06:00 – Super League Split 09:40 – Ethical Questions in Sport 21:35 – Technology in Sport and ‘Cheating’ 38:27 – ‘The Spirit of the Game’  51:30 – What Message Enhancements in Sport Send? 105:00 - Dr Francisco Javier López Frías Book   Dr Lopez Frias: Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.is/citations?user=z3_i9-AAAAAJ&hl=en Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  3. 27 Oct

    Media, Concussion and the Culture of Sport with Dr Keith Parry

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Parry is a Principal Academic at Bournemouth University and formerly led the Concussion Legacy Foundation’s UK Media Project. An award-winning writer and educator, he is also a recipient of a UN Day Media Award. His research explores how the media shapes our understanding of sport, from masculinity and rugby culture to the language we use around head injuries. Today, we’ll explore why the words we use to talk about concussion matter, how the media shapes public attitudes, why athletes still struggle to speak up, and the big question: is all this conversation translating into meaningful change?   01:30 - Dr Parry Journey into Research of Media Representation   03:35 - Why Does Language Around Injurie’s Matter    10:50 - Does the Media Reflect or Create What Society Thinks About Concussion?   14:50 – Cultures, Complexities and Pressures on Athletes   21:00 – Concussion and Media Fatigue   26:00 – Implementation of Change   28:30 – Look at Effects on Family with Repetitive Head Impacts   34:10 – Organisation and Cultural Lag   40:40 – If We Could Change Few Things What Would It Be   45:10 – Favourite Sporting Moments and Where to Find and Help Support Dr Parry       Dr Keith Parry   https://staffprofiles.bournemouth.ac.uk/display/kdparry Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  4. 20 Oct

    Heading for Trouble: Football’s Head Impact Crisis – And How We Save the Game with Dr Kevin Moore

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Moore is the founding Director of England’s National Football Museum, which he built from the ground up over more than twenty years, bringing together world-class collections, including the FIFA Collection. He opened the museum in Preston in 2001 before relocating it to Manchester in 2012, where it attracted over half a million visitors annually. He has advised sports museums internationally and written extensively on football history and museum culture. His latest book, Heading for Trouble: Football’s Head Impact Crisis – And How We Save the Game, published by Bloomsbury Sport, draws on research and interviews with former players and neurological experts to explore the links between repetitive heading and brain disease, football’s slow response, and how the game can protect its players while preserving everything we love about it.   02:00 - Running a Sports Museum,  04:24 - Writing a Book on Football & Concussion? 08:00 - How Heading Became Part of the Game  15:45 – Concussion, CTE & Repetitive Heading Impacts 21:10 – Differences in Men, Women and Children 32:20 – Who Creates the Rules and Changes the Rules 36:40 – Ball Size, New vs Old 41:20 – Personal Views on Changing Rules for the Game  45:20- Favourite Sporting Moment and Piece of Memorabilia from a Museum  49:50 - Purchasing the Book and Supporting Dr Kevin Moore’s Work?   Dr Kevin Moore https://doctorkevinmoore.org https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/heading-for-trouble-9781399428248/   Audio Book on Spotify https://open.spotify.com/show/1iA6Tpl5kqida5p0VJnZcN?si=32466a2f1b524e1d         Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  5. 13 Oct

    Concussions, Culture and The Sociology of Sport with Dr Jack Hardwicke

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Hardwicke is a Senior Lecturer in the Sociology of Sport at Nottingham Trent University and a leading UK voice on brain injury in sport. A former competitive cyclist who suffered a brain injury himself, he now works with colleagues on how to better care for former athletes living with neurodegeneration and their families. Through his research and his writing for the British Journal of Sports Medicine and The Conversation, he challenges sport to focus on preventing brain injuries rather than only managing them after they happen.  01:30 – Journey into Concussion and Sociology Research 09:30 - What is a Concussion in Sociology Research 13:00 - “Knowledge Doesn't Equal Safety" Paradox 20:00 - Brain Injury in Women’s Sport and Misconceptions 30:08 - Suspected CTE and Families Research 46:15 – Children and Brain Injury  54:53 - Where to Find Dr Jack Hardwicke Dr Jack Hardwickie  https://www.ntu.ac.uk/staff-profiles/science-technology/jack-hardwicke Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=riOu_9AAAAAJ&hl=en Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  6. 6 Oct

    Repetitive Head Impacts, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome with Dr Robert Stern (Re-Release)

    Send us Fan Mail Professor Stern is a Professor of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Anatomy & Neurobiology at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine. As co-founder of the BU CTE Center and former Director of Clinical Research, he has spent nearly two decades pioneering ways to detect and diagnose chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) during life, while uncovering the long-term neurological impact of repetitive head trauma in former athletes. His ground-breaking work includes major projects such as the landmark DETECT and DIAGNOSE CTE studies, the Head Impact & Trauma Surveillance Study, and numerous investigations into biomarkers and diagnostic criteria for concussion and CTE. With more than 250 peer-reviewed publications, key advisory roles with the NFLPA and NCAA, and recognition such as the 2025 Leon Thal Prize for Research Excellence, Professor Stern is widely regarded as one of the foremost experts shaping modern concussion and CTE science.    06:50 - Dr Robert Stern’s Journey into Neurology, Neurodegenerative Disease and Repetitive Head Impacts 13:00 - What Does Boston University CTE Do? 15:55 – Repetitive Head Impacts  20:45 – Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy  24:35 – Dementia  28:25 – Neurological Disease’s and Clinical Testing In vivo  32:24 – Biomarkers, Diagnosis Dementia and Growth in the Field 40:00 – Nocebo Effect and Understanding/ Misunderstanding of What is Known 45:35 - Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome and Diagnostic Criteria 01:02:00 – Summary of Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome 01:07:00 – How to Help and Support Dr Stern’s Work     Professor Robert Stern:  https://www.bu.edu/cte/ https://www.bu.edu/cte/profile/robert-stern/   https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=42mlewcAAAAJ&hl=en       Subscribe, review and share for new episodes which will drop weekly  Social media: Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  7. 29 Sept

    Prevalence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy at Death in National Football League Players: Retrospective Population-Based Cohort Study, 2008-21 with Dr Daniel Daneshvar

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Daneshvar is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, Chair of physical medicine and Rehabilitation at Spaulding Rehabilitation, and Co-Director of Sports Concussion at Mass General Brigham, whilst also a long-time collaborator with the Boston University CTE Centre. Lastly, Dr Daneshvar earned the National Neurotrauma Society's 2024 Rising Star Award, whilst publishing more than 100 papers and being cited over 18,000 times by his academic peers. One of those articles is “Prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy at death in National Football League players: retrospective population-based cohort study, 2008-21” The topic of today’s conversation.  01:15 - Journey into Neurosciences and Brain Injury  02:50 – What is and Difference Between Concussion and CTE 05:16 -  “Prevalence of Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy at Death in National Football League Players: Retrospective Population-Based Cohort Study, 2008-21” What are the major findings? How was it conducted…. Etc 09:10 – Extrapolation of CTE in Populations & Correlation Against Death Certificates 12:13 – Stage’s of CTE 15:10 - Accelerometer Data as a Predictor of CTE vs Career Length  18:10 - Significant Challenges in Conducting Studies Around CTE 23:10 – Risk Reduction  27:40 - How Can we Help Support Dr Daneshvar Research   Dr Daniel Daneshvar Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=YF2omqkAAAAJ&hl=en  Prevalence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy at death in National Football League players: retrospective population-based cohort study, 2008-21 : https://www.bmj.com/content/394/bmj-2026-100418 Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  8. 22 Sept

    Neuropathology and Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) with Dr Michael Buckland

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Buckland is Head of the Department of Neuropathology at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital in Sydney and a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Sydney. He founded and directs the Australian Sports Brain Bank, established in 2018, which has since become a leading centre for research into chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). He is also a co-founder of Brainstorm, a brain cancer research initiative at RPA, and leads research across gliomas, neurodegenerative diseases and molecular neuropathology. 01:17 – Dr Buckland’s Journey Neuropathology and What is Neuropathology 04:25 - Concussion, repetitive head impact 07:50 – What is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) 10:20 – How is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) Diagnosed  13:00 – Separating Different Types of Neurodegenerative Disease  16:54 – Does Response Relationship  19:00 -Brain Donation and Difficulties in Approaching Donations 23:00 – Brainstorm and Cancer   Google Schoolar: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=A4mEg3QAAAAJ&hl=en Australian Sports Brain Bank: https://brainbank.org.au BrainStorm: https://brainbenefit.org/causes/brainstorm-at-rpa/     Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com Subscribe, review and share for new episodes, which drop weekly  www.headfirstaconcussionpodcast.com Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast, discusses all things concussion. From the physiology, effects, treatment and rehabilitation process. All with the aim of providing the tools and education to help patients. DISCLAIMER: All information discussed and provided is not a substitute for professional medical advice of doctors or healthcare practitioners. If a listener believes they are suffering from a similar injury to one discussed by the author, please seek medical care of your doctor or physician and do not rely on the author's advice.

Information

  • Creator
    Dr Reece Granger BSc (Hons), BChiro
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    155
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast
  • Show Website
    Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast

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