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History of concussion linked to increased risk of injury in college football players

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Sports-related concussion history correlated with a greater musculoskeletal injury risk, according to results presented at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Clinical Symposia & AT Expo.

“Slow visuomotor and whole-body reactive agility are risk factors for injury that can be compounded by the presence of concussion history,” Shellie N. Acocello, PhD, ATC, senior author of the study and assistant professor for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, told Healio.com/Orthopedics. “While we cannot justify a cause-effect relationship with this study, our results clearly support other research showing a link between concussion and injury risk.”

Acocello and colleagues screened 89 NCAA Division I-Football Championship Subdivision players before they began preseason practice sessions. The Dynavision D2 system (Axion Technology) was used to perform visuomotor reaction time testing. During a 60-second test, players had to manually hit illuminated buttons as fast as they could and the visuomotor reaction time was recorded. The Trazer Sports Simulator (Trazer) was used to assess whole-body reactive agility. Effects of previous injuries, such as sports-related concussion history, were quantified with the 10-item sports fitness index.

Investigators noted the four-factor prediction model they created included five or more games played, a visuomotor reaction time of 745 milliseconds or more, a whole-body reactive agility time of 101 seconds or more and a sports-related concussion history. Results from Cox regression showed two or more of the factors positively demonstrated a significant time-to-event difference. – by Monica Jaramillo

Reference:

Anthony RC, et al. Neuromechanical factors associated with college football injury risk. Presented at: National Athletic Trainers’ Association Clinical Symposia and AT Expo; June 24-27, 2019; Las Vegas.

Disclosures: Acocello reports no relevant financial disclosures.