Effects of Exercise on Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-Third Edition Performance in Women.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of a brief exercise protocol on Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-Third Edition (SCAT3) performance in amateur women athletes.

DESIGN: Cross-over repeated-measures design.

SETTING: Off-season, uninjured community amateur athletes.

PARTICIPANTS: We examined 87 amateur women athlete volunteers (age = 29.9, SD = 6.9 years).

INDEPENDENT VARIABLES: Participants were assessed using the SCAT3 under 2 conditions: at rest and after a 5-minute physical exertion protocol, completed in a counterbalanced order.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' performance on the various components of the SCAT3 under the 2 conditions: at rest and after a 5-minute physical exertion protocol.

RESULTS: No significant differences were detected between at-rest and postexercise conditions for the balance, orientation, or cognitive components of the SCAT3. There were no significant differences in the proportion of participants who endorsed specific symptoms at rest compared with the postexercise condition (P > 0.05). However, women athletes who rated their exertion after exercise as "hard" or greater (Borg scale rating 13-20) reported significantly greater blurred vision (M = 0.25, SD = 0.62 vs M = 0.00, SD = 0.00; P = 0.006) and fatigue/low energy (M = 1.38, SD = 1.17 vs M = 0.66, SD = 0.91; P = 0.002) symptoms after exercise than those who rated their exertion as "light" or lower (Borg scale rating 6-12).

CONCLUSIONS: In this study of women athletes, a brief bout of exercise did not seem to adversely affect SCAT3 performance and had only small effects on self-reported symptoms. There were differences in symptom reporting, however, in the subgroup of women who rated their exertion levels as "hard" or greater; they reported more blurred vision and fatigue/low energy.