Alan Pearce
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alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Alan Pearce
@alanpearcephd.bsky.social
74 followers 52 following 140 posts
Neurophysiologist | #Concussion / #CTE research | Adjunct Professor Swinburne Uni | Enjoy a bit of cycling too

http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Alan-Pearce
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alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Journal of Neurotrauma flag 6 papers on q-collar brain "protection" device as expressions of concern.
www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1177/...
September 5, 2025 at 10:13 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Popped my lawn bowls cherry...I am now officially old
#lawnbowls #superfun #noconcussions
Me holding a lawn bowl My green bowl, closest to the jack
June 14, 2025 at 7:44 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
June 8, 2025 at 2:51 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
"A broken brain is too big a price to play with."

An opinion piece from me in The Australian

#concussion #cte #mentalhealth

www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/ampli...
Image of my Opinion piece in The Australian today.
May 26, 2025 at 7:50 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
“Don’t risk further damage to your brain by being involved in these purely violent activities, where the objective is to knock out your opponent,” [Pearce] said…It just defies everything that we’ve learnt…about repetitive impacts to the brain.”

www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victori...
April 25, 2025 at 10:17 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Six game ban for a criminal physical assault. #sportbenefits

www.news.com.au/sport/afl/pl...
April 20, 2025 at 10:47 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
When the #HIA is conveniently able to allow a player back onto the field. (Who needs signs or symptoms?)

www.news.com.au/sport/nrl/mu...
March 28, 2025 at 12:34 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
The cognitive dissonance here is stunning... #braininjury #concussion #CTE
March 26, 2025 at 7:18 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
A case of playing catch ups, rather than "making change"
#concussion #braininjury #CTE #football

www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/af...
AFL makes major concussion changes on eve of 2025 season
February 28, 2025 at 9:25 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
NRL defends its invite to Donald Trump in Las Vegas after White Ribbon charity withdrawal.
#principles

www.theguardian.com/sport/2025/f...
White Ribbon chief executive Merinda March told AAP in a statement that it was “disappointing and frankly, tone deaf” for the NRL to associate themselves with “well-known perpetrators” of violence against women. “While the NRL has continued to promote their association with us, this decision by the NRL is wildly misaligned with our values and lacks integrity and respect,” March said. “We believe the fans and participants of the NRL - almost half of whom are female - deserve better. They deserve the values of respect, integrity and fair play - both on and off the field.
February 27, 2025 at 7:21 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Nothing changes really...the empty rhetoric around "player health and wellbeing" from the AFL and related sports continues
#concussion #CTE

www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/th...
February 25, 2025 at 12:51 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
AFL football club administrator “Athlete health and wellbeing is the highest priority”…while continuing to have players’ #brain injured during preseason games 🤷🏻‍♂️

www.news.com.au/sport/afl/we...
West Coast Eagles player Ginbey pushes opposition Richmond player Lalor into marking contest, resulting in concussion for Lalor
February 17, 2025 at 12:42 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Wise words from long time reader, first time letter writer John from Mountmorency. #concussion #cte
Letter to the Editor, The Age, lamenting the lack of progress in concussion in Australian rules football and the conflict of interest the AFL has in revenue from media rights and player health.
February 8, 2025 at 1:49 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Slightly different from my usual research business on #concussion or #cte; my new paper on quantifying professional AFL players leaving the AFL. How they are treated by their clubs depends greatly on whether they retire or are delisted.

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....
January 26, 2025 at 6:59 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Is It All in Your Head? Placebo Effects in Concussion Prevention.

With Prof James Smoliga, Prof Chris Bleakley, and me

link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Title of my co-authored study in Sports Medicine Journal. Summary of my study. Text below Sports-related concussions (SRCs) are a major health issue in athletes of varying ages, ability levels, and sports. Concerns over the short- and long-term consequences of SRCs have incentivized a wealth of products and policies aimed at reducing SRC risk. Research suggesting the effectiveness of such interventions at reducing SRCs has facilitated their adoption by sports organizations and, in some cases, product commercialization. However, the body of SRC mitigation research is almost entirely devoid of placebo or sham groups, which raises important questions about the true clinical effectiveness of these interventions. This Current Opinion explores the plausibility of placebo effects within the scope of SRC prevention, describes why the lack of placebo/sham groups in the current body of literature is problematic, and provides recommendations for including placebo/sham groups in future SRC research.
January 7, 2025 at 8:40 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Umbrella review of traumatic brain injury (TBI) research from Oxford University.
There were consistent findings for a number of adverse health conditions, suggesting long-term treatment is important after a TBI.
www.psych.ox.ac.uk/news/umbrell...
Traumatic brain injuries umbrella review. Data indicated increase in risk following TBI 35% for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis 66% for dementia 62% for violence perpetration
January 3, 2025 at 12:44 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Pleased to talk to Wendy Smith at our Concussion Legacy Foundation Australia golf day lunch. Wendy lost her son Antonio who died playing Australian football from 2 impacts to the head. In his memory Wendy started Happy Lids to raise awareness for second impact syndrome & to raise funds for CLF Aust
Me, on right, talking to Wendy Smith at our fundraising event. Wendy lost her son Antonio from second impact syndrome, where he had two blows to the head during the game and tragically died on the field.
December 23, 2024 at 9:39 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
While the Rugby League Players Association report 98% of male and 99% of female NRL players "understand" the NRL #concussion and HIA protocols, when the TV cameras are not around adherence to reporting and management is somewhat lacking.
Survey results from NRL players to questions on concussion reporting and management.
December 16, 2024 at 10:31 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
An awesome day at The Grange Golf Club in Adelaide where ~150 people attended, played a round of golf & talked #concussion. We raised around $40k for concussion education in the memory of footballer Antonio Lo Iacono who sadly passed away last year from second impact syndrome.
December 13, 2024 at 7:00 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Off to do another #charity event to raise money for #concussion and #CTE education and research
me at airport
December 12, 2024 at 2:45 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Tell me without telling me there's no care in athlete brain health and wellbeing while saying "athlete health and wellbeing is our highest priority"
www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/nf...
Picture showing high tackle as part of NRL campaign to advertise rugby league to America
December 11, 2024 at 12:27 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Writer Geoff Parkes giving his wrap up of #Rugby in 2024.
Good to see #concussion and #brain injury not being ignored in The Roar 👇🏼
www.theroar.com.au/2024/12/09/t...
Paragraph describing the disparity in Rugby concussion policy/guidelines and reality
December 9, 2024 at 8:58 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
Government response into royal commission into veteran suicide: One of the recommendations that was *only* agreed to in-principle was in regard to blast-induced brain injury.
www.abc.net.au/news/2024-12...
Post outlining response by Government to TBI research (or lack of it)
December 2, 2024 at 11:36 PM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
“I have mates, contemporaries, who have got #CTE symptoms…I can’t speak for them and their conduct, but I think there’s a hidden pandemic and people don’t want to admit they’ve got symptoms…their professional life can be questioned…” - Barry Mitchell

www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/we...
November 22, 2024 at 5:39 AM
alanpearcephd.bsky.social
“Where sport needs to get real is that every hit harms. It’s not just the clear knockout blows. Every hit has an impact. CTE...is a disease of mileage. And sport has to look to reduce that impact on the brain for players.”
www.itv.com/news/wales/2...
Man looking at phone which has a picture of his late friend who passed away due to head injuries in sport.
November 21, 2024 at 9:29 PM