Stunt actors on film sets engage in strenuous and sometimes dangerous physical activities to create captivating scenes. Common injuries during filming are fractures, dislocations, cuts, abrasions, back and neck problems, burns, and head injuries. However, severe brain injuries are often unrecognized, with symptoms not seen initially. There is a common tendency for stunt performers to delay reporting head injuries due to the pressures of finishing the scene quickly.

This leads them to hide their symptoms while bypassing medical assessment. Thus depriving them of proper care. Injuries do not only happen when films are being made but also during rehearsals, thereby exposing the gap in health service provision available for stunt performers compared with athletes who have concussions.

The movie “Concussion” brought into light chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) following the case of Hall-of-Fame American Football player Mike Webster. Athletes gain benefits from athletic trainers and concussion protocols, unlike stunt performers who lack equivalent healthcare resources tailored for managing concussions. Job insecurity can promote silence about these injuries, which does not happen in athletes under concussion protocol that keeps paying them even if they cannot play anymore. Consequently, undiagnosed and untreated symptoms among stunt performers pose significant occupational dangers over time. The reason why participants with head injuries appear unwilling to disclose their experience is because they do not understand the severity of such an injury as it should be known.

One reason it is hard to manage concussions among this group is that there has been very little data concerning how often they occur in relation to other employment hazards in this industry as a whole or within subgroups of employees (stunt performers). There have been few published works on prevalence or treatment approaches for head injuries among stunt performers.

Head injuries are critical since they directly alter how the brain functions. The brain always requires special attention after any damage caused by an accident. On the other hand, if not given a proper medical intervention, it may cause severe repercussions and can even lead to death. , Especially when injuries are multiple. At Boston University School of Medicine and Ohio State University College of Medicine, studies on CTE among stunt performers have just commenced, who are an otherwise well-studied population in sports and the military.

Such reporting protocols need to be developed for a unique work environment like that of film sets. The guidelines should cover when recipients are required to report an injury and what should be done afterward. This will countermeasure the prevalent “cowboy culture” that promotes toughing it out in the industry, exacerbating stunt performers’ reluctance to report head impacts. Stunt actors might become crucial players in modifying this culture itself.

Removing all risks associated with the job is not rational, but improving detection and ensuring long-term treatment of head injuries caused by stunts is necessary. It also provides enhanced social, psychological, and financial support and health care facilities for those stunt persons who would most likely lose working hours because of injury on their heads. Without affecting production or profitability within the company, making changes in current practices is inevitable to enhance concussion care for these performers, thus safeguarding their lives.


Views: 28

Posted by Nathelia Bim