Brisbane Lions' Justin Clarke has thrown his support behind breakthrough Queensland Brain Institute research and a national awareness campaign around concussion.
Clarke was forced into retirement earlier this year aged just 22 after copping a heavy head knock at training.
The well-liked defender has decided to get behind the #NoBrainNoGame campaign along with other high-profile sportspeople including Queensland rugby league great Steve Renouf.
The #nobrainnogame campaign is backed by the Australian Athletes’ Alliance which represents 3,500 athletes from all of the nation’s major sporting codes including the NRL, AFL and rugby union.
Clarke said: "First off, I want to thank my family and friends for all their support over the last 6 months. It's been overwhelming, and helped me through a tough time, one that I never thought I would have endure. First the concussion, then the effects, then the retirement and the end of my dream.
"I loved playing footy. I wish I still could. That's why I'm lending my voice to the Queensland Brain Institute's #NoBrainNoGame campaign.
"There's still so much to learn about the brain and how to minimise the effects of concussion, but without research we can't make the sports we love safer.
"If you want to donate then that's fantastic, but the most important message is to raise awareness of how to treat concussions, and to know what to do if you think your mate has had one. So please check out www.qbi.uq.edu.au/concussion"
QBI researchers have launched an Australian-first study into a breakthrough saliva test to detect the lasting effects of sporting concussion.
Researchers from the Queensland Brain Institute hope the test will revolutionise the way concussion is diagnosed by detecting biomarkers that are released after a brain injury.
If successful, it would enable doctors to more accurately assess the severity and duration of a concussion and take the guesswork out of when it is safe for sufferers to return to sport or work.
The study — which will involve 300 rugby union players at two Brisbane clubs in the Queensland Rugby Union’s Premier Rugby competition.
QBI concussion researcher Dr Fatima Nasrallah, who will be conducting the rugby trial, said she also hoped to undertake a similar future trial with children.
She said there was an urgent need to develop a better diagnosis of concussion for those at risk of repeated head trauma including contact sport athletes but also victims of domestic violence and military personnel.
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