Sports concussion

Repeated head trauma acquired through sports injuries has been associated with the development of long-term disabling symptoms that negatively impact the quality of life. In this retrospective case series, 52 male former professional athletes involved in contact sports and with a history of multiple concussions were evaluated for chronic clinical symptoms and post-mortem neuropathological diagnoses. The clinical symptoms of 19 cases were examined in greater detail for symptom type, severity and duration. Information on neurological, psychiatric and physical symptoms, substance use profiles and concussion histories was obtained from the athletes' next of kin and assessed in relation to post-mortem neuropathological diagnoses...

The myelin sheath surrounding axons is vulnerable to mechanical stresses after head injuries, as well as autoimmune attacks and degeneration in neurological disorders. Unfortunately, there is currently no effective method to assess these axonal conditions in individual patients. We have developed a sandwich immunoassay detecting dual signals of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and interleukin 1B (IL1B) in human plasma ([IL1B on MOG]). While IL1B is one of common inflammation markers, its lack of tissue specificity is addressed by identifying IL1B on extracellular vesicles from oligodendrocytes isolated using anti-MOG, suggesting inflammation around axons...

Soccer is one of the most popular sports worldwide, played by over 270 million people and followed by many more. Several brain health benefits are promoted by practising soccer and physical exercise at large, which helps contrast the cognitive decline associated with ageing by enhancing neurogenesis processes. However, sport-related concussions have been increasingly recognised as a pressing public health concern, not only due to their acute impact but also, more importantly, due to mounting evidence indicating an elevated risk for the development of neurological sequelae following recurrent head traumas, especially chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)...

BACKGROUND: Cumulative effects of traumatic brain injury is of increasing concern, especially with respect to its role in the etiology and pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. OBJECTIVE: Compare regional brain volume and connectivity between athletes with a history of concussion and controls. METHODS: We evaluated whole-brain volumetric effects with Bayesian regression models and functional connectivity with network-based statistics, in 125 retired athletes (a mean of 11 reported concussions) and 36 matched controls...

BACKGROUND: Female sex is a significant determinant of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury. It is not understood if sex is a key determinant of other sports-related injuries. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this systematic review was to identify where differences in injury profiles are most apparent between the sexes in all sports across the six-tiered participant classification framework. METHODS: This systematic review was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement and the 'implementing PRISMA in Exercise, Rehabilitation, Sport medicine and SporTs science'(PERSiST) guidance...

Sport-related concussions (SRCs) are a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) that induces transient symptoms in athletes. These symptoms provide avenues for developing emerging technologies to diagnose SRCs, in particular ocular and vestibular dysfunction. The following study aims to assess the reliability of visual smooth-pursuit technology (EyeGuide Focus) in amateur field-sport athletes. A convenience sample of 30 mixed-gender athletes (mean age = 24.89 ± 6.81 years) completed two testing sessions separated by 2-7 days...

OBJECTIVE: To provide athletic trainers and team physicians with updated recommendations to the 2014 National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) concussion position statement regarding concussion management, specifically in the areas of education, assessment, prognostic factors, mental health, return to academics, physical activity, rest, treatment, and return to sport. BACKGROUND: Athletic trainers have benefited from the 2 previous NATA position statements on concussion management, and although the most recent NATA position statement is a decade old, knowledge gains in the medical literature warrant updating several (but not all) recommendations...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Pre-injury migraines might be a risk factor for prolonged recovery after sport-related concussion (SRC). We sought to examine whether a pre-injury history of migraines is associated with worse recovery following SRC in collegiate athletes. Data were collected through a prospective concussion surveillance system in 11 NCAA Division III college athletic programs between 09/2014-03/2020. Our primary independent variable, pre-injury migraines, were self-reported by the athletes. Between those with and without migraines, the outcomes of days to return-to-learn (RTL) without academic accommodations and return-to-play (RTP) and were compared using Mann-Whitney U tests...

INTRODUCTION: Sport-related concussions (SRC) have been a concern in all sports, including soccer. The long-term effects of soccer-related head injuries are a public health concern. The Concussion in Sport Group (CISG) released a consensus statement in 2017 and several soccer governing associations have published their own SRC guidelines while referring to it but it is unclear whether this has been universally adopted. RESEARCH QUESTION: We aimed to investigate whether guidelines published by soccer associations have any discrepancies; and the extent to which they follow the CISG recommendations...

CONTEXT: Concussion evaluations include a multifaceted approach; however, individual differences can influence test score interpretations and validity. Social determinants of health (SDoH) differentially affect disease risk and outcomes based upon social and environmental characteristics. Efforts to better define, diagnose, manage, and treat concussion have increased, but minimal efforts have focused on examining SDoH that may affect concussion recovery. OBJECTIVE: This review examined previous research that examined the effect of SDoH on concussion recovery of athletes...

A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). It is prevalent among athletes across a wide variety of sports. The exact mechanism of a concussion is unknown, but it is currently accepted that the acceleration and deceleration of the brain is the insult causing disturbances in activity. The most common symptoms of concussions include but are not limited to dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and headaches. With repetitive concussive injuries, athletes can experience permanent changes such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (gradual degeneration of brain tissue), which can lead to personality changes and memory deficits...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

Objectives: This study investigated the quality of life of youth sport participants over the COVID-19 pandemic as moderated by psychological resilience. Methods: Participants included 93 high school sport participants (53.76% female, mean age = 15.59 ± 0.74) in a three-year longitudinal cohort study (SHRed Concussions) who completed the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Pediatric Quality of Life Scale (PedsQL), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) at Year 1 (pre-pandemic, 2019-2020) and Year 2 (pandemic, 2020-2021)...

AIMS: We applied the 2021 consensus criteria for both chronic traumatic encephalopathy neuropathological change and traumatic encephalopathy syndrome in a small case series of six former elite-level Australian rugby code players. METHODS: Neuropathological assessment of these cases was carried out at the Sydney and Victorian Brain Banks. Clinical data were collected via clinical interviews and health questionnaires completed by the participants and/or their next of kin, and neuropsychological testing was conducted with participants who were capable of completing this testing...

Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a serious injury in youth team sports, including handball. While research on the prevention of SRC has made progress over the past 5 years, prevention strategies are lacking in handball. The aim was to explore and develop strategies focusing on information, rules and training that may prevent concussion in youth handball by incorporating knowledge from experts and end users. Using a participatory methodology, experts (physiotherapy, biomechanics: n=3) and end users (players, coaches, referees, coach educators: n=7) contributed their experience and knowledge in a 2-hour online workshop...

BACKGROUND: Sports medicine (injury and illnesses) requires distinct coding systems because the International Classification of Diseases is insufficient for sports medicine coding. The Orchard Sports Injury and Illness Classification System (OSIICS) is one of two sports medicine coding systems recommended by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Regular updates of coding systems are required. METHODS: For Version 15, updates for mental health conditions in athletes, sports cardiology, concussion sub-types, infectious diseases, and skin and eye conditions were considered particularly important...

This study correlated mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) cognitive changes with ASL-MRI glymphatic clearance rates (GCRs) and recovery with GCR improvement. mTBI disrupts the blood brain barrier (BBB), reducing capillary mean transit time and GCRs. mTBI is clinically diagnosed utilizing history/examination findings with no physiologic biomarkers. 3D TGSE (turbo-gradient spin-echo) pulsed arterial spin-labeling 3T MRI with 7 long inversion times (TIs) assessed the signal clearance of labeled protons 2800-4000 ms postlabeling in bifrontal, bitemporal, and biparietal regions within 7 days of mTBI and once clinically cleared to resume activities...

Sports-related concussions may cause white matter injuries and persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS). We hypothesized that athletes with PPCS would have neurocognitive impairments and white matter abnormalities which could be revealed by advanced neuroimaging using ultra-high field strength diffusion tensor (DTI) and diffusion kurtosis (DKI) imaging metrics and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers. A cohort of athletes with PPCS of a severity limiting the ability to work/study and participate in sport school and/or social activities for ≥ 6 months completed 7T MRI (morphological T1-weighed volumetry, DTI and DKI), extensive neuropsychological testing, symptom rating and CSF biomarker sampling...

BACKGROUND: Assessing postural control is important for the assessment of motor function after concussion. Data used for postural control assessment typically do not take the sport played, age, or sex of the athlete into consideration. It is plausible these variables may be significant when making return-to-play decisions. RESEARCH QUESTION: This study used the BTrackS database to examine differences in postural control in athletes playing different types of sports and across sex and age...