Supply ice hockey-style neck guards to hurling and camogie players, doctors tell GAA

The GAA should consider the use of neck guards for hurling and camogie players to prevent serious and life-threatening injuries, doctors have said.

hey highlighted the cases of 21 players who had to be treated for laryngeal injuries – to the area of the neck that contains muscles used for breathing, swallowing and talking.

Three had a thyroid cartilage fracture, while one needed a tracheotomy, where an opening is created in the front of the neck to insert a tube into the windpipe to help a person breathe.

The patient with a tracheotomy was admitted to ICU and had to be fed through a tube up the nose for nine days.

The retrospective study by doctors at the Department of Otolaryngology at Waterford Regional Hospital and the Royal College of Surgeons covered patients treated between 2005 and 2020.

The otolaryngology centre in Waterford serves five counties where hurling and camogie are popular – Waterford, Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow and Wexford.

The most common symptoms were hoarseness and pain when swallowing, with…