A scary moment was experienced in the Ice Hockey Championship on Tuesday, when Sport’s forward Miro Nalli fell short in the second set.
Nalli lay on the ice, got up a moment later to a kneeling position and finally stood up 24 seconds after being shortened. He hobbled off the ice and staggered before the bench, when Erik Riska firmly took hold of his teammate.
– The word concussion can be heard from there on the field, and it does describe this situation. Miro Nalli simply cannot stand up. A really grim-looking situation, C More’s narrator Olli Eronen stated on the broadcast.
Nalli left the hall on his own two feet to the ambulance for more detailed examinations.
Earlier in the opening set, Nalli got a concussion near the sideline, when Ilari Melart tackled the attacker. Nalli’s head seemed to hit the side. Based on the video, it seems possible that Melarti’s hand made Nalli’s head hit the side more effective.
A week ago on Monday, Nalli crashed in the llves match Aku Rädyn with and got hit in the head. At that time, two people coaxed Nall out of the rink. The HIFK match was the first after returning.
– It’s hard for me to say what was in the background, Dufva replied according to Iltalehte. (you switch to another service)
– Also in the first set there was a situation where he shook the wing. It could be that too, but there was no overtime situation in this game.
Sport did not comment on the testing
Urheilu reached out to Sport’s doctor Petri Lehtonen by email and later by phone. According to Lehtonen, the situations have been handled in accordance with the protocol of the SM league.
The concussion guidelines of the SM League and the Ice Hockey Association state that a player who is suspected of having a concussion, or who has one or more symptoms of a concussion, must be examined by the team doctor and/or physiotherapist in an undisturbed environment.
In the opening set of the HIFK match, Nalli seemed to get up from the ice a little slower than normal after the tackle, and in addition, he immediately started to keep his head in the situation. According to the guidelines, these can be signs of a concussion.
In the SM league, the SCAT5 form must be used to support concussion diagnostics after a possible head injury. For example, the Pelicans Good morning to Jämsen was made a similar test earlier in the fall during the match (you switch to another service). did not receive an answer from Lehtones, whether a similar test was performed on Nalli in the match.
According to the Tervuerheilija website, SCAT5 testing cannot be completed properly in less than ten minutes. Nalli returned to the ice five minutes after his main stable. Three minutes had passed from the game clock when he scored a 1-1 equalizer.
– I wasn’t the match doctor, but the match doctor handled the situation on the spot and you have to ask him for a detailed description. We will act according to league protocol in the situation. I can’t comment on what happened because I wasn’t there, Lehtonen commented.
HIFK’s communications manager Eetu Hyvärinen says that HIFK’s doctor Petri Helenius was not present during the opening set tackle.
– The doctor wasn’t there, but was fixing it Eddie Larsson, who dropped early in the match. The doctor had a really busy evening. Next it dripped Roope Taponen. Micke-Max Åsten your tackle Mikko Salmiota and the doctor also took him aside as a precaution. Everything went according to instructions. It was a busy evening, Hyvärinen answers the question if Nalli was given a SCAT5 test.
Hyvärinen emphasizes that all cases are taken seriously. According to Hyvärinen, Sport did not contact HIFK’s doctor regarding the tackle.
Lehtonen commented on a general level that in the event of a head injury, Sport monitors the player’s condition daily and also uses the SCAT5 test to monitor the player’s recovery.
Sport previously promised to provide more information about Nalli’s situation. Lehtonen states that he told the sports committee that Nalli is on sick leave.
The shortening worried me
Sports expert Top Nättinen followed the match on the spot. The shortening of the second set caused him great concern.
– I heard the shudder of the audience and saw that something is really bad. Then I started putting together pieces of what has happened to the player within a week, says Nättinen.
– When I played, I somehow thought that things are part of the game, but as a spectator you understand how much the players hit the ball. When he fell on his own, I became quite quiet and worried, says Nättinen.
The Tackle that Nalli received might have been missed by many, as it looks harmless without the slowdown. However, Nalli was hit in the head. He was caught between the side and Melart.
– He may have other injuries in his body, which affect the rise from the ice, but yes, the rise seems a little slow. Repairing the visor probably means that the head has hit the end plex.
The instructions have not always been followed
In the SM league, a player can return to competitive activities when he has passed the return to the game program without symptoms and his test results correspond to the personal starting level measured at the beginning of the season.
In the return-to-game protocol, the athlete slowly increases his heart rate and his training. A player can return from non-contact training to full weight training when his test results are at the starting level taken at the beginning of the season.
Nättinen is on the board of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association, or Players’ Association. According to Nättinen, the association has not been completely satisfied with the compliance with the guidelines.
– The players have continued playing or checks have been made on the ice. Or at the end of the set, it has just been decided to finish the set, Nättinen enumerates.
There are no known operating instructions
According to Nättinen, the biggest problem has been that not all doctors, physiotherapists, players, judges or other people participating in the event have known the operating instructions.
Nättinen reminds that also the competition manager of the League Arto I. Järväla roared in the fall that the series would not have an actual protocol for concussions.
Chairman of the players’ association Teemu Ramstedt had to fix matter to Ilta-Sanom (you will switch to another service). He reminded that the guidelines published in 2016 were signed by many experts.
– In terms of communication, we have tried to continue informing and sending information to the clubs. The problem is that no one monitors them separately. There are no resources to take an outsider to matches, as I understand there is in the NHL. The matter will be decided by the match doctor, physiotherapists, players and coaches, says Nättinen.
Nättinen emphasizes that the most important thing at the moment is Miro Nalli’s condition and his survival, even if we are thinking about where things stem from. However, according to Nättinen, it would be important to know how the situation was handled from the point of view of the future.
– The player has privacy protection and doctors do not have to reveal things. In order to learn from these, you need to know whether the protocols have been followed and what has affected what. Or was it really bad luck, which is always possible, says Nättinen.