Effect of Routine Sport Participation on Short-Term Clinical Neurological Outcomes: A Comparison of Non-Contact, Contact, and Collision Sport Athletes

Eckner, James T.; Wang, Jingshen; Nelson, Lindsay D.; Bancroft, Richard W.; Pohorence, Melissa A.; He, Xuming; Broglio, Steven P.; Giza, Christopher C.; Guskiewicz, Kevin M.; Kutcher, Jeffrey S.; McCrea, Michael

doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01200-y

Cited by 10 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…A similar large scale investigation of male NCAA athletes undergoing preseason testing found that football players had lower (worse) visual motor processing speed and slower (worse) reaction time compared with non-contact sport athletes, however, the authors reported small effect sizes and minimal clinical relevance, similar to our study 9. Others have examined the influence of sport on cognition across an athletic season and found small but measurable short-term differences in neurocognitive outcomes between collision, contact and non-contact high school and collegiate athletes,13 although the magnitude of the differences between sport type did not reach the thresholds deemed to be clinically significant and did not persist across subsequent athletic seasons 13. Similarly, previous studies have found lower symptom scores in adolescent12 and collegiate athletes10 associated with collision sport participation.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

“…Moreover, high school football players may potentially sustain upwards of 1800 collisions over the course of a single season, while some studies suggest that fewer than 3000 repetitive head impacts may be associated with an elevated risk of later life impairments in executive functioning 5 8. Other studies, however, suggest that collision and contact sport participation does not necessarily result in worse neurocognitive outcomes 9–13. Furthermore, recent studies suggest that collision and contact sport athletes have fewer anxiety and depression symptoms compared with non-contact sport athletes,10 14 and they are not more likely to have depression or cognitive deficits long term 15 16.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Neurocognitive functioning and symptoms across levels of collision and contact in male high school athletes

Oldham

Howell

Lanois

et al. 2022

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry

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ObjectiveWe sought to determine whether male collision sport athletes perform worse on computerised neurocognitive assessments and report higher symptom burdens than athletes in contact (but not collision) sports and athletes in non-contact sports.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used data collected by the Massachusetts Concussion Management Coalition on high school boys who underwent computerised neurocognitive testing between 2009 and 2018. We divided sports participation in three different sport types: (1) collision, (2) contact, non-collision and (3) non-contact. Our outcomes included the four computerised neurocognitive composite scores (verbal memory, visual memory, visual motor speed and reaction time) and the total symptom score. The independent variable was sport type (collision, contact, non-contact), adjusted for age, concussion history and comorbidities.ResultsOf the 92 979 athletes (age: 15.59±2.08 years) included in our study, collision sport athletes performed minimally but significantly worse than other athletes on neurocognitive composite scores (verbal memory: β=−1.64, 95% CI −1.85 to –1.44; visual memory: β=−1.87, 95% CI −2.14 to –1.60; visual motor speed: β=−2.12, 95% CI −2.26 to –1.97; reaction time: β=0.02, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.02). Collision and contact sport athletes also had slightly but significantly lower total symptom scores (collision: 3.99±7.17; contact: 3.78±6.81; non-contact: 4.32±7.51, p<0.001, η2=0.001) than non-contact sport athletes.ConclusionThere are minimal observed differences in performance on neurocognitive assessments between collision sport, contact sport and non-contact sport athletes. The repetitive subconcussive head impacts associated with collision sport participation do not appear to negatively affect self-reported symptoms or neurocognitive functioning in current youth athletes.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 71%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Neurocognitive functioning and symptoms across levels of collision and contact in male high school athletes

Oldham

Howell

Lanois

et al. 2022

J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry

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“…All participants but one reported participating in contact or non-contact sports at either a recreational or competitive level, and 14 participants reported engaging in both. Sports that require contact as a regular part of strategy or play were categorized as contact or limited contact sports (such as basketball, hockey, or rugby), while sports in which players do not have physical contact with each other (such as tennis or swimming) were classified as non-contact sports [ 38 – 40 ]. Ten participants were students, 13 reported part-time employment, and 13 reported full-time employment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sex-related differences in visuomotor skill recovery following concussion in working-aged adults

Smeha

Kalkat

Sergio

et al. 2022

BMC Sports Sci Med Rehabil

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Background The ability to perform visually-guided motor tasks requires the transformation of visual information into programmed motor outputs. When the guiding visual information does not align spatially with the motor output, the brain processes rules to integrate somatosensory information into an appropriate motor response. Performance on such rule-based, “cognitive-motor integration” tasks is affected in concussion. Here, we investigate the relationship between visuomotor skill performance, concussion history, and sex during the course of a post-concussion management program. Methods Fifteen acutely concussed working-aged adults, 11 adults with a history of concussion, and 17 healthy controls all completed a recovery program over the course of 4 weeks. Prior to, mid-way, and following the program, all participants were tested on their visuomotor skills. Results We observed an overall change in visuomotor behaviour in all groups, as participants completed the tasks faster and more accurately. Specifically, we observed significant visuomotor skill improvement between the first and final sessions in participants with a concussion history compared to no-concussion-history controls. Notably, we observed a stronger recovery of these skills in females. Conclusions Our findings indicate that (1) concussion impairs visuomotor skill performance, (2) the performance of complex, rule-based tasks showed improvement over the course of a recovery program, and (3) stronger recovery in females suggests sex-related differences in the brain networks controlling skilled performance, and the effect of injury on these networks.

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“…However, there is also evidence that HIE can be associated with de cits in both cognitive and behavioral performance following increased levels of HIE. For example, impairments in reaction time, processing speed, memory and learning, balance, impulse control, and attention have been observed in contact sport athletes after one or two seasons, with effects seen across youth, high school, and college level athletes [20,22,23]. Similar results in cognitive measures were also identi ed following exposure to headers performed by soccer players [24,25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 74%

“…Unlike physical changes that have been extensively studied, prospective research surrounding cognitive and behavioral changes has been limited [18]. Some studies have shown that HIE may have no clinically-meaningful short-term effect on neurological and cognitive measures in contact sport athletes [19][20][21]. However, there is also evidence that HIE can be associated with de cits in both cognitive and behavioral performance following increased levels of HIE.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Change in Head Impact Exposure following Return to Play in Concussed Football Athletes

Muench

Sinson

Harezlak

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Background Following sport-related concussion, early head impact exposure and premature return to play is known to increase risk of repeat concussion in football athletes, yet athletes’ true post-injury head impact exposure profiles and biomechanical progression have not been explored. Accordingly, this study explored how American college football athletes alter playing style during their return from concussion, particularly within the same athletic season. Methods Using head impact exposure profiles of fifty-two collegiate football athletes from six NCAA Division I programs, this analysis compared daily volume of head impacts following concussion with pre-injury levels and further compared these athletes to team- and position-matched controls to minimize season- or team-related factors. Additionally, this study provided an analysis of the possible association between length of recovery time and change in head impact exposure following concussion using continuous linear regression. Results Over 40% of concussed athletes did not reach their pre-injury level of head impact exposure at any point during the remainder of the season segment that the concussion occurred. Furthermore, concussed athletes showed significantly larger decreases than non-concussed athletes over the same time period. Finally, longer recovery times after concussion were associated with larger decreases in head impact exposure over the remaining contact days within the season segment. Conclusions This study provide evidence for a shift in playing style after returning from concussion, both in the immediate days after return to play as well as over extended periods of time within the season. These findings will help to better inform the management of athletes returning from concussion.

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Effect of Routine Sport Participation on Short-Term Clinical Neurological Outcomes: A Comparison of Non-Contact, Contact, and Collision Sport Athletes

Cited by 10 publications

References 50 publications

Neurocognitive functioning and symptoms across levels of collision and contact in male high school athletes

Neurocognitive functioning and symptoms across levels of collision and contact in male high school athletes

Sex-related differences in visuomotor skill recovery following concussion in working-aged adults

Change in Head Impact Exposure following Return to Play in Concussed Football Athletes

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