Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion was made more chilling as the Dolphins quarterback positioned his arms and hands unnaturally after being hit by Josh Tupou. The position adopted by the Alabama product has an explanation and this is it.
The fencing answer
According to the portal healthline.com, Tagovailoa’s stance is called the “fencing stance.” This reaction is a consequence of “an impact strong enough to cause a traumatic brain injury”; this posture is manifested for a few seconds.
The name of the posture originates from the cervical asymmetric tonic reflex experienced by newborns, and up to four months of age, Also known as the “fencer’s reflex.” According to the Spanish Institute of Neuro-Physiological Psychology, this reaction arises “as a result of turning the head to one side. As the head is turned, the leg and arm on the same side will stretch, while the limbs on the opposite side will shrink.
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The fencing response occurs when an injury is strong enough to impact the brainstem. This trauma to the lower region of the brain momentarily activates the asymmetric tonic neck reflex.
Likewise, health line explain what fencing response is common in athletes knocked down or knocked out during contact sport competitions such as soccer, mixed martial arts, boxing, rugby, and hockey.
The importance of the fencing response is that can be an effective indicator of brain trauma (a concussion is such an injury) and can help determine the extent of the damage. In Tua’s case, the quarterback will have to go through the league’s concussion protocol before playing again.