www.ohio.edu: A recent study released by the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine shows a stunning number of participants not only experienced concussion-related symptoms and head impacts but also continued performing either without reporting the incident or without receiving the recommended care. These participants were not taking part in any sporting contest at the time, however. They are theater personnel.
4 comments:
This is not a surprising article what so ever. Just last year the freshman dp had at least 2 concussions. At least a handful of DP’s in general had concussions. I am unsure of the performers but I am sure at least 1 has a concussion. Working in theatre, there is a lot that can cause a concussion from set pieces backstage, to a wet floor, to running into a door by accident in the dark. One thing that shocked me in the article was this “Of those who experienced a head impact, 70 percent had concussion-related symptoms but continued working.” I feel like there is this stigma around a concussion where you should keep working. I don’t think a lot of students realize how serious this is. The only way to recover is to be in the dark and give it time to heal. You should not be doing a show while concussed. In the future I would love to see the impact of long term concussions in theater.
I wish I was more surprised by this article. In my opinion, of the most important lines in this article is the subtitle “The brain is more important than a production”. We often have this mentality where the show must go on and nothing can get in the way. We need to change the culture around safety and start to treat all injuries seriously, especially concussions. I wish this article gave suggestions of what theater communities can do to deal with concussions. For example, having a concussion protocol and making sure the crew head is versed in it, providing concussion training for all students and employees, or enforcing hard hats rules may decrease the amount of work people do after having a concussion. Also, schools should pay special attention to the number of concussions and make sure that teachers actively discourage student from working if they feel unsafe. Overall, we need to encourage safer behavior in schools and allow students to feel empowered if they feel unsafe and after they have injured themselves.
I mean...yeah? I don't think any of this comes as a shocker. Especially as a stage and production manager, I feel very familiar with head injuries in the theatre. I personally have never had one, but I know far too many people that have gotten concussions, most of them did not seek treatment. Even those who did seek treatment did not follow through properly as doctors orders. The actual numbers and percentages in the Ohio study was pretty surreal. I mean, 67% is humungous for injuries. The article comments that perhaps the reason most head injuries go untreated is because people affected aren't being as closely watched as athletes are. As a SM/PM I hope to be more active in the future to help people who have head injuries, and get them proper medical treatment. It's scary having to fill out an injury report with company members because in some backwards way it feels like it is your fault, but ultimately we need to put our egos behind us and fully commit to the safety of our staff.
i feel like to the outside world, theatre is usually considered to be a "soft" profession. Or even considered a hobby. Basically, I think that no one ever really thinks that theatre is something that you can get hurt from unless you're s performer in Cirque or whatever. It's disappointing to know how many theatre makers get head injuries while trying to make art. One quote in particular stuck out to me fro Fior Tat:"“You just don’t want someone to tell you that you can’t do it,”. I connect with that so heavily. It's hard to admit to yourself as well as to others that you can't do something, especially if you'e a women. You fell like you have to prove yourself, and not doing a task feels like you're somehow letting the crew down. However, I will say, it's better to ask for help and feel a bit embarrassed than not ask for hep and hurt yourself.
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