Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast

Dr Reece Granger BSc (Hons), BChiro
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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. 3d ago

    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

  2. Sep 29

    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

  3. Sep 22

    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

  4. Sep 15

    Concussion, Women’s Health and Acupuncture with Dr Ayla Wolf

    Send us Fan Mail Dr. Wolf is a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine and the founder of Healing Response Acupuncture & Functional Neurology in Stillwater, Minnesota. With more than 20 years of clinical experience, she specialises in neurological acupuncture, post-concussion syndrome, and traumatic brain injury recovery. Her approach combines functional neurology and applied clinical neuroscience, supported by post-doctoral training at the Carrick Institute, where she serves as an Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine. Dr. Wolf has also worked as a team acupuncturist for UFC and Legacy fighters at Fortis MMA in Dallas. She is the host of Life After Impact: The Concussion Recovery Podcast and the author of The Art of Concussion Recovery and The Concussion Breakthrough: Discover the Missing Pieces to Recovery. 01:40 - Journey from Acupuncture to Concussion Care  08:50 – Concussion, What It Means in and Functional Assessments in Dr Wolf’s Clinic  16:30 – Where it Fits in Concussion 23:00 – Clinical Approach on Female Population 29:20 – Acupuncture Needles Gauge Explained 31:15 – Dr Wolf’s Books 40:30 - Life After Impact: The Concussion Recovery Podcast 48:00 – Where to Find Dr Wolf Dr Ayla Wolf https://lifeafterimpact.com/podcast https://acupunctureneurology.com/about IG: @lifeafterimpact FB: https://www.facebook.com/amy.ayla.wolf/   Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  5. Sep 8

    Probable CTE, Football & Brain Health with Valerie Wade & Former Socceroo Captain Paul Wade

    Send us Fan Mail Paul captained the Socceroos throughout the 1990s, earning 84 caps and playing 345 National Soccer League games for clubs including Croydon, Green Gully, Brunswick and South Melbourne. He led Australia from 1990 to 1996, including at the Olympics and through two World Cup qualifying campaigns, and was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia. More recently, Paul has bravely spoken publicly about his diagnosis of probable CTE, linked to repeated head impacts throughout his career, using his experience to advocate for better brain health protections in football.   01:40 - Paul's Journey into football 04:05 - Football at Barnsley 06:00 – How Paul and Val Met 08:30 – Diagnosis of Probable CTE 11:30 – Process of Diagnosis 19:40 – Perspective of a Diagnosis and Day to Day life 24:30 – Impact on Work 27:20 – Paul’s Epilepsy  30:30 – Advocacy, Training with Probable CTE 39:25 – Pauls Favourite Footballing Moments 43:00 – Old National Soccer League/ NLS Day’s 44:50 – Val’s Favourite Moments  47:07 – Find Paul/ Support  49:10 – Dad Joke’s                                                            Paul Wade Life Skills: www.paulwade.com.auEpilepsy Action Australia / Paul Wade: www.epilepsy.org.auDr Rowena Mobbs: www.rowena.mobbs.com.auConneCTErs Australia: www.connecters.org.auTwitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  6. Sep 1

    Edgework, Consent and the Violence Paradox in Martial Arts with Dr Alex Channon

    Send us Fan Mail Dr Channon is a Principal Lecturer in Physical Education and Sport Studies at the University of Brighton, UK. His work covers sociology of sport, in particular martial arts and combat sports, examining topics such as gender and sexuality in participation, the role of martial arts in physical education curricula and media portrayals of professional fighters. Dr Channon has authored over 43 publications serves as an editor for the journal of Martial Arts Studies and Special Advisory Board Member, International Centre of Martial Arts for Youth Development.    01:25 - Journey into Sociology, and Martial Arts 06:10 – What is Edgework/ Consent 12:00 – Fighting and Violence Paradox  25:10 - Protecting fighters in unregulated combat sports  36:54 – Mixed Fighting/ Sparing  46:10 - Sexualisation of the fighter's body  51:00 – Where to Find Dr Alex Channon and Support His Work Dr Alex Channon https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=wVLoke8AAAAJ&citation_for_view=wVLoke8AAAAJ:e5wmG9Sq2KIC   Additional Resources for further viewing and context Lecture 1 – violence/consent: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdhWnqo3naQ (starts around 12 mins),    Lecture 2 – risk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ddx9VYR0sEo,   Lecture 3 – gender: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWnymS6_gEQ.

  7. Aug 25

    Performance of Traumatic Encephalopathy Syndrome Criteria in Identifying Individuals with Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy with Dr John Arena

    Send us Fan Mail Dr. Arena is a neurosurgeon at the University of Pennsylvania, specializing in the intersection of clinical neurosurgery, neurotrauma, and neurodegenerative disease. He has authored more than 54 publications in these fields. Before medicine, he was an accomplished football player at Johns Hopkins University, where he played linebacker in every game of his college career, helped lead the Blue Jays to a 28–6 record, and served as team captain in 2013. Academically, he maintained a perfect 4.0 GPA as a neuroscience major and was named the 2013 National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete and Capital One Academic All-America Player of the Year for Division III football.     02:20 - Journey from football into medicine, neurosurgery.  05:10 - What is CTE and TES/ Probable CTE  14:48 - Lead author on “Performance of traumatic encephalopathy syndrome criteria in identifying individuals with chronic traumatic encephalopathy” 23:40 – Where to Research Wise 27:23 – Nocebo Effect 31:00 – Where too Find Assistant Professor John Arena   Assistant Professor John Arena: -       Google Scholar - https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=rBLzm34AAAAJ&hl=en -       Performance of traumatic encephalopathy syndrome criteria in identifying individuals with chronic traumatic encephalopathy: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-026-04392-9   Twitter: @first concussion Facebook: Headfirst: A concussion podcast Instagram: Headfirst_ Concussion   Email: headfirstconcussion@gmail.com

  8. Aug 18

    Monologue: The Cost of Consent - Concussion, Vocation and the Assumption of Risk

    Send us Fan Mail This episode picks up where our last one left off, brief update new developments in the Geelong concussion waiver case. But the real focus is bigger than one club: we're unpacking what "they accept the risk" actually means, why professional sport gets treated as a calling rather than a job, and what that costs players when it comes to consent, tax structures, and basic workplace protection. We'll hold both sides of that argument up fairly, and test it against how any other Australian workplace would be judged for doing the same thing.     03:44 – New Developments 08:44 – The Debate on Player Accepting the Risk  14:27 – Vocation vs Job Perspective in Sport 20:29 – Taxation and Financial Structures in Professional Sports 23:20 – Workers Compensation and Athlete Protections 28:10 – Taxation and Risk 32:53 - Comparative Analysis of Workplace Safety and Sports 38:51 – Conclusion     REFERENCE LIST 1. “Geelong to face significant financial sanction over concussion waiver.” SEN, 8 August 2026. https://www.sen.com.au/news/2026/08/08/afl-2026-afl-ceo-andrew-dillon-speaks-on-geelongs-secret-concussion-waiver-with-jake-kolodjashnij 2. “Timeline becomes clearer as Geelong Cats prepare response to AFL's please explain over Jake Kolodjashnij concussion waiver.” AFL.com.au. https://www.afl.com.au/news/1582383/timeline-becomes-clearer-as-geelong-cats-prepare-response-to-afls-please-explain-over-jake-kolodjashnij-concussion-waiver 3. “Geelong ‘welcomes’ AFL please explain as captain responds to concussion waiver debacle.” Yahoo Sport Australia / Zero Hanger. https://au.sports.yahoo.com/geelong-welcomes-afl-please-explain-013608927.html ; https://www.zerohanger.com/geelong-cats-patrick-dangerfield-captain-responds-to-concussion-waiver-debacle-backs-in-ceo-181057/ 4. “Cats board hold crisis meeting over concussion deal.” AAP, via Inverell Times / Moree Champion. https://www.inverelltimes.com.au/story/9327256/cats-board-hold-crisis-meeting-over-concussion-deal/ 5. “Cats board meets to discuss concussion controversy.” K ROCK 95.5. https://www.krock.com.au/national/geelong-cats/cats-board-meets-to-discuss-concussion-controversy/ 6. “AFL delivers fresh concussion saga statement.” Zero Hanger, 11 August 2026 (Andrew Dillon's 'club obligations' memo; Craig Drummond's full statement). https://www.zerohanger.com/afl-delivers-fresh-concussion-saga-statement-181096/ 7. Nichol, Matt. “Not-for-profit organisations and the tax status of professional sport: Revisiting the exemption status of the Australian Football League and its clubs.” CQUniversity. https://acquire.cqu.edu.au/articles/journal_contribution/Not-for-profit_organisations_and_the_tax_status_of_professional_sport_Revisiting_the_exemption_status_of_the_Australian_Football_League_and_its_clubs/28755494 8. Nichol, Matt. “Australia's major sports codes are considered not-for-profits – is it time for them to pay up?” The Conversation / CQUniversity. https://theconversation.com/australias-major-sports-codes-are-considered-not-for-profits-is-it-time-for-them-to-pay-up-250914 9. “Sporting organisations.” Australian Taxation Office (confirms sporting tax-exemption category distinct from registered charity status). https://www.ato.gov.au/businesses-and-organisations/not-for-profit-organisations/your-organisation/does-your-not-for-profit-need-to-pay-income-tax/types-of-income-tax-exempt-organisations/sporting-organisations 10. Windholz, Eric. “Why sports stars get less support than other injured workers – and how we can fix it.” Monash Lens / The Conversation. https://lens.monash.edu/why-sports-stars-get-less-support-than-other-injured-workers-and-how-we-can-fix-it/ ; https://theconversation.com/why-sports-stars-get-less-support-than-other-injured-workers-and-how-we-can-fix-it-200702 11. “Injured sports stars are not entitled to workers' compensation. How we can fix the problem.” SmartCompany (Eric Windholz). https://www.smartcompany.com.au/people-human-resources/injured-sports-stars-not-entitled-workers-compensation/ 12. Windholz, Eric. “Professional athletes and injury insurance: A better way forward.” Sport, Business and Management, 2025. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1037969X251337131 13. “The future of injury insurance and workers' compensation in Australian sport.” Monash University Faculty of Law. https://www.monash.edu/law/news/articles/2021/the-future-of-injury-insurance-and-workers-compensation-in-australian-sport 14. “WHS and pro athletes: the next frontier in regulation.” Citation Group. https://citationgroup.com.au/resources/whs-and-the-professional-athlete-the-final-frontier-for-workplace-regulation/ 15. “Chapter 4: Coverage and eligibility for benefits” and “Table 4.4: Treatment of sportspersons and sporting injuries.” Safe Work Australia. https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/book/comparison-wc-arrangements-29ed/chapter-4 ; https://www.safeworkaustralia.gov.au/book/comparison-workers-compensation-arrangements-australia-and-new-zealand-2021-28th-edition/chapter-4-coverage-and-eligibility-benefits/table-44-treatment-sportspersons-and-sporting-injuries 16. Riewoldt, Nick. “What happens during AFL contract negotiations?” ESPN, 2016. https://www.espn.com.au/afl/story/_/id/16111020/nick-riewoldt-happens-afl-contract-negotiations 17. Riewoldt, Nick. “My experiences with concussion.” ESPN, 2016. https://www.espn.com/afl/story/_/id/15180632/my-experiences-concussion 18. “Don't knock concussion protocols: Riewoldt.” AFL Players' Association. https://www.aflplayers.com.au/news-feed/stories/dont-knock-concussion-protocols-riewoldt

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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
    150
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast
  • Show Website
    Headfirst: A Concussion Podcast

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