Invited Panel: Sports concussion - Multidisciplinary case formulation and intervention for persisting symptoms following adult sport-related concussion

Persisting symptoms following sport‑related concussion (SRC) present complex challenges that require coordinated, multidisciplinary clinical management. This panel brings together experts in neuropsychology, neurology, neurophysiotherapy, and sports medicine to provide an integrated exploration of contemporary evidence, clinical reasoning, and practical intervention strategies for athletes experiencing ongoing post‑concussive difficulties. To establish a framework for discussion, the session will begin with an overview of current concussion policies and return‑to‑play guidelines, highlighting the regulatory and clinical contexts within which practitioners operate in elite and community sport settings. Building on this foundation, panel members will review key findings from the sports concussion literature, emphasising factors that contribute to prolonged recovery and differential diagnostic considerations relevant to persisting symptoms. Through a series of case presentations, presenters will collaboratively examine athletes across the care continuum—from the post‑acute phase through to complex cases requiring long‑term rehabilitation or considerations around sport retirement. Each case will illustrate the diverse presentations clinicians encounter, ranging from relatively straightforward symptom profiles to highly complex, multifactorial cases involving cognitive, vestibular, psychological, and physiological presentations. The panel will outline discipline‑specific assessment methods, share assessment results and interpretations, and demonstrate how these data inform shared case formulations. Attendees will gain insight into clinical rationales guiding evidence‑based management, including rehabilitation approaches, medical interventions, neuropsychological strategies, and interdisciplinary communication. This session aims to equip neuropsychologists with practical tools and conceptual frameworks to support safe and effective return‑to‑life and return‑to‑sport outcomes for athletes with persisting SRC symptoms.

 

Learning objectives:

 

1.Understanding the process of developing a case formulation in the context of a multidisciplinary team environment for concussed athletes.

2.Learn skills in order to optimise provision of neuropsychological perspective/interpretation and input for case formulations in a multidisciplinary team environment.

3.Deepen knowledge of current evidence-based assessment and interventions for sport-related concussion.

 

 

 

Level: This panel will suit clinical neuropsychologists with any level of experience, with an interest in sports concussion. No background knowledge is required.

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About the experts:

​Dr Katie Davies is the principal physiotherapist at Neurological Rehabilitation Group (NRG) a private practice in Victoria, Australia.  Their team of 40 clinicians both physios and EP’s manage people in the community with neurological and vestibular conditions, including those who have sustained concussion.  Katie has a varied load of clinical work, research and teaching.  Katie has an honorary appointment at the MCRI as an associate investigator in the multidisciplinary team researching the management of persisting concussion symptoms in children.  She also has an honorary role at the Turner Institute at Monash University where she is an associate investigator on the i-RECOveR study investigating concussion recovery in adults.   Katie consults to elite sports groups and has experience managing athletes from a variety of sporting codes.  Dr Davies presents on the topic of concussion widely and has designed a two-day concussion management course for physiotherapists.  Dr Davies was a key contributor to the Australian Institute of Sport physiotherapy team with their recent concussion guidelines and physio specific recommendations.

 

Dr Sharron Flahive is a Specialist Sports Medicine consultant having gained Fellowship of the Australasian College of Sport & Exercise Physicians in 2004 and being awarded the college medal for highest achievement in her fellowship exams. She was also the first female Sports Physician to be appointed to a professional rugby union team in 1999 when she was appointed as the NSW Waratahs Chief Medical Officer. Dr Flahive retained this role with the NSW Waratahs since the date of that appointment until the end of season in 2019, looking after the Team for 20 years!
NSWRU honoured this role in 2020 by awarding Dr Flahive life membership. Dr Flahive was also awarded the Joe French award by Rugby Australia for outstanding contribution to Rugby.

Dr Sharron Flahive has been the Team Doctor for the Wallabies Australian Rugby Union Team, Chief Medical Officer for Equestrian Australian, and Club Doctor for the Sydney Swans Football Club. Dr Sharoon Flahvie is currently the Chief Medical Officer of the National Rugby League. Dr Sharron Flahive may have wide recognition from her long-term involvement with the NSW Waratahs but her work transcends the sporting spectrum, from the first time or recreational sportsperson to the professional athlete. Dr Sharron Flahive’s speciality is being able to assist all patients return to fitness and to resume normal participation in their work and life without pain and dysfunction (irrespective of their level of activity). 

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Prof Chris Levi is a consultant neurologist for multiple athletes from the elite to community level who have suffered concussion. He has been operating a concussion clinic service for over 10 years. He has published numerous concussion-related journal articles amongst his many publications in the stroke field. Over the past 15 years, Prof Levi has established one of Australia’s leading stroke research groups. Prof Levi overarching research vision has been the translation of experimental stroke therapies into the clinical domain. This builds on a career objective to provide health care professionals with greater knowledge, better tools and more effective strategies to treat and prevent stroke. A key attribute has been his focus on developing research ideas and directions that are ‘grounded’ in clinical relevance. This focus and determination has led to Prof Levi’s appointment as Director, Clinical Research and Translation for the Hunter New England Local Health District.

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Adjunct Associate Professor Catherine Willmott, BSc (Hons), MSc (ClinNeuro), PhD, FCCN MAPS. Adjunct A/Prof Willmott Head of Concussion Innovation & Research at the Australian Football League (AFL) and leads the Mild TBI stream Monash Epworth Rehabilitation Research Centre, Monash University. She has a h-index of 24 (Google Scholar) and has had more than $5 million research funded from NHMRC, MRFF and AFL. Contributions include co-developing i-RECOveR a multi-disciplinary concussion intervention, seminal studies investigating factors associated with ongoing symptoms following mild TBI, exploring instrumented mouthguard accelerometers to measure head impacts, and padded headgear effectiveness for sport-related concussion prevention. In the emerging field of biomarkers in sport-related concussion NHMRC/MRFF grants have supported work undertaken in collaboration with Alfred Health/Monash University exploring microRNAs and leading candidate biomarkers such as NfL. Other studies are investigating sex differences in concussion attitudes and understanding of management guidelines. Adjunct A/Prof has led pharmacological interventions for the management of symptoms associated with moderate-severe traumatic brain injury, imaging studies examining the brain pathways that mediate effective treatments and has investigated genetic biomarkers for recovery. Adjunct A/Prof Willmott is Principal Investigator (Academic Lead) on the AFL Brain Health Initiative, a prospective, longitudinal clinical research program incorporating multimodal monitoring of brain health in AFL/W players, from recruitment through to retirement and beyond. Adjunct A/Prof is Chair - AFL Concussion Scientific Committee, and member - AFL Research Board. Adjunct A/Prof regularly provides concussion research education to players. Adjunct A/Prof has collaborated on Australian Football Headgear Standards, AFL Guidelines for Concussion, and the HeadCheck App, and reviewed for NHMRC, journals, and was an invited reviewer for the A&NZ Clinical Practice Guideline for mild TBI.