Faculty Collaboration Database

Effect of Routine Sport Participation on Short-Term Clinical Neurological Outcomes: A Comparison of Non-Contact, Contact, and Collision Sport Athletes. Sports Med 2020 May;50(5):1027-1038

Date

10/23/2019

Pubmed ID

31637659

DOI

10.1007/s40279-019-01200-y

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85074638945 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   7 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To compare pre-season to post-season changes on a battery of clinical neurological outcome measures between non-contact, contact, and collision sport athletes over multiple seasons of play.

METHODS: 244 high school and collegiate athletes participating in multiple non-contact, contact, and collision sports completed standardized annual pre-season and post-season assessments over 1-4 years. Pre/post-season changes in 10 outcome measures assessing concussion symptoms, neurocognitive performance, and balance were compared between the groups using linear mixed models.

RESULTS: Small, but statistically significant overall pre/post-season change differences were present between the groups for Axon computerized neurocognitive test processing speed, attention, and working memory speed scores (Axon-PS, Axon-Att, Axon-WMS), as well as Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) total score. Small seasonal declines not exceeding reliable-change thresholds were observed in the collision sport group relative to the contact and non-contact groups for Axon-PS and Axon-Att scores. The collision and contact sport groups demonstrated less pre-/post-season improvement than the non-contact sport group for Axon-WMA and BESS, with less BESS improvement also observed in the collision sport group relative to the contact sport group. Overall, longitudinal performance on all 10 outcome measures remained stable in all 3 groups over 4 years.

CONCLUSION: Our findings do not necessarily support the notion that participation in sports associated with exposure to repetitive head impacts has clinically meaningful cumulative effects over the course of a season, nor over four consecutive seasons in high school and collegiate athletes.

Author List

Eckner JT, Wang J, Nelson LD, Bancroft R, Pohorence M, He X, Broglio SP, Giza CC, Guskiewicz KM, Kutcher JS, McCrea M

Authors

Michael McCrea PhD Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Lindsay D. Nelson PhD Associate Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adolescent
Athletes
Athletic Injuries
Brain Concussion
Female
Humans
Male
Neuropsychological Tests
Sports