New Zealand Football have updated their concussion guidelines ahead of the new season, bringing the game in line with Sport NZ’s advice, to prioritise player welfare in Aotearoa New Zealand’s biggest team participation sport.
A major change to the previous guidance now sees players with a suspected concussion subject to a 21-day stand down period from competing in New Zealand Football and federation competitions and only returning to play when symptom free and following medical clearance.
The updated guidelines establish best practice principals for dealing with suspected concussion in football and futsal by providing graduated return to play protocols:
Recognise – Recognise the signs of a suspected or potential concussion
Remove – Remove from play if a concussion is suspected and if in doubt ensure players are sat out anyway
Refer – Refer all suspected/potential concussion to a qualified medical professional (from a general practice or primary care team) for diagnosis and return to play guidelines
Rest and Recover – All players must have a full physical and cognitive rest, following medical advice and gradually returning to play once symptom free
Return – Players should undertake a graduated return to training (minimum 14 days) and playing (minimum 21 days)
See the full Guidelines Document to the right - NZF Concussion Head Injury Guidelines 2024
FC Nelson are excited to announce a new partnership from 2025 with leading local physiotherapy and massage clinic, Sports Therapy.
Located centrally in Collingwood Street, Sports Therapy have a large team of therapists who can help to fix injuries, prevent new ones and maximise your potential on the football pitch.
The aim of our partnership with the team at Sports Therapy is to; Improve access to physiotherapy services for all of our club members; To educate our members on injury prevention; To improve access to information for our members.
As part of the partnership, Sports Therapy offer FC Nelson members exclusive benefits:
BOOK IN WITH THE TEAM AT SPORTS THERAPY NOW FOR YOUR NIGGLES AND INJURIES!!
We have worked with Sports Therapy Clinical Manager/Advanced Physiotherapist, Ross Smith (a football player himself) to design a partnership model with some unique ideas, integral services and an informative approach.
Some of the things we will be doing are:
Contact Us
Looking for Sports Physiotherapy services in Nelson? Sports Therapy is located in the healthcare centre @132 Collingwood Street, Nelson.
Give us a call on (03) 548 1221
Drop us an email to info@sportstherapynelson.co.nz
Or pop in and see us!
We are excited to announce a fantastic new partnership with locally owned MiGym Nelson !!
MiGym is supporting our top club team with access to their state-or-the-art gym and offering our members a discounted membership rate of $17 per week for 12 months (with the ability to put the membership on hold).
Just show your membership on our club system when you sign up!
Check our their website - https://www.migym.co.nz/ for details on all of the amazing features of the gym - sauna, group fitness, 24hr access and more!
Thanks Trevor, Rachael and the team MiGym Nelson
ONE CLUB, ONE COMMUNITY