Examining Whether Onfield Motor Incoordination Is Associated With Worse Performance on the SCAT5 and Slower Clinical Recovery Following Concussion

Frontiers in Neurology

Grant L. Iverson³  Andrew J. Gardner⁵  Ryan Van Patten⁷ 

[1] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States;Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Charlestown, MA, United States;Home Base, A Red Sox Foundation and Massachusetts General Hospital Program, Charlestown, MA, United States;Hunter New England Local Health District Sports Concussion Program, Newcastle, NSW, Australia;Priority Research for Stroke and Brain Injury, School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia;Spaulding Research Institute, Charlestown, MA, United States;Sports Concussion Program, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, Boston, MA, United States;

关键词: rugby league;    video analysis;    brain injury;    clinical assessment;    return to play;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fneur.2020.620872

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Objective: To examine the relationship between video-identified onfield motor incoordination, the acute assessment of concussion, and recovery time during three seasons of National Rugby League (NRL) play.Methods: Blows to the head (“head impact events”) were recorded by sideline video operators and medical staff. Any player with a suspected concussion underwent a Head Injury Assessment in which he was taken off the field and medically evaluated, including the administration of the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool, 5th Edition (SCAT5). Video footage was later examined to determine the presence or absence of onfield motor incoordination following the head impact event.Results: Motor incoordination was identified in 100/1,706 head impact events (5.9%); 65 of the 100 instances of motor incoordination (65.0%) were ultimately medically diagnosed with a concussion. In 646 athletes for whom SCAT5 data were available, those with motor incoordination were more likely to report both dizziness and balance problems than those without motor incoordination, but there were no group differences on an objective balance test. Additionally, there was no relationship between presence/absence of motor incoordination and number of games missed or time to medical clearance for match play.Conclusion: In NRL players, motor incoordination is a readily observable onfield sign that is strongly associated with a medical diagnosis of concussion and with self-reported dizziness/balance problems. However, onfield motor incoordination is not associated with objective balance performance and it is not predictive of time to recover following concussion.

【 授权许可】

Unknown