Subcommittee on Sports-Related Concussions in Canada Committee on April 1st, 2019

[Sandhya Mylabathula]

Essentially, the core of that is to say that some education initiatives exist—and as we mentioned, there needs to be more work on these—but the literature shows that not a lot of them include explicit mention of the mental health effects of a concussion. People don't necessarily realize that this is something that can happen, and when it does happen, you have worse effects.

It's about making sure that people are aware of this, both the people who might suffer a concussion and those around them, so that we know what to do about it.

[Swapna Mylabathula]

And how to find it, how to notice that it's happening in your peers....

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Has either of you had a concussion?

[Sandhya Mylabathula]

No.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

It's interesting, because most of the people who have come here with a level of knowledge have gained that knowledge because of their adverse effects from concussions.

[Swapna Mylabathula]

It just stems from our passion for hockey.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Perfect.

[Sandhya Mylabathula]

We've also been lucky in the policy work that we've done previously to have had so many opportunities to talk to Canadians who have suffered from concussions, as well as their families, caregivers, health care practitioners and so on, across the country in many different provinces—

[Swapna Mylabathula]

In work, in sport, in recreational activity—

[Sandhya Mylabathula]

—and internationally, as well.

So while we haven't experienced concussion personally, we've been able to engage with people who have. There's also the research we're doing.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

I'm not going in any specific order that I have planned in my head, but I think a national awareness week is a brilliant idea. I had a Senate bill through the House of Commons on sickle cell awareness day. It did just that. It had a national conversation on something that rarely ever had a national conversation. So I support that.

Do you have proposed legislation for a federal law? Is it something you can provide to the committee, besides your slides?

[Swapna Mylabathula]

Yes.

[Sandhya Mylabathula]

That was Bill C-566.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Okay.

Was that in 2010?

[Sandhya Mylabathula]

It was in 2014.

[Swapna Mylabathula]

It had its first reading.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

In your remarks, one of you said—I'm getting you mixed up already—that concussions are a growing problem. I wonder whether we're getting more concussions or whether we're realizing more instances of concussion. I'm not sure. Do you want to elaborate on that? Is it a growing problem? Are there more concussions today than there were before? Would that be because of hockey gear, or because we have a guy who maybe trained playing hockey while working on a farm all summer, and now that guy is lifting 330 pounds every day and he's bigger, faster and stronger?

[Swapna Mylabathula]

We had an interesting choice of words there, but in our opinion, every moment that we don't do something about concussions makes it a growing problem, because there are more and more consequences of it. That was why.

When we're talking about statistics, it's an interesting question. For one thing, because it's an invisible injury and there are lots of reasons why people don't report it, it's very under-reported and under-recognized. We don't have a very solid tracking system for it, so that's another way we're losing the ability to say that the statistics out there are the true picture of what's happening.

In terms of the numbers and how things have changed over time, I agree with you that the increase we do see.... For example, in Ontario, the data from the research I am doing right now show that in 2003 we saw just over 2,000 concussions per 100,000 children and youth aged 4 to 18, and in 2017 the number that was recorded for diagnoses of concussion, using our definition—again, it depends on the definition you use—was over 4,000 per 100,000.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

They didn't do baseline studies back in 2002, did they?

[Swapna Mylabathula]

I don't know what you mean by that.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

My son plays hockey, and they didn't start doing baseline testing of an athlete's brain until he was 13 or 14.

[Swapna Mylabathula]

Oh, okay. Yes.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

Now I think they start with kids much younger.

[Swapna Mylabathula]

Yes.

[Darren Fisher, Liberal, Dartmouth—Cole Harbour, NS]

You also said that—