Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health crisis that results in acute and long-term health consequences for women, including potential acquired brain injury from non-fatal strangulation. Despite existing evidence on the neuropsychological sequelae experienced by women after experiencing IPV-related assault, limited evidence-based treatment protocols exist for these women. This 14-month study sought to: 1) assess the feasibility and acceptability of recruiting women who experienced strangulation associated with IPV within 7 days of the event and retaining them throughout a 3-month follow-up period; and 2) examine preliminary data from neuropsychological, balance, and symptom assessments. Inclusion criteria were: reported strangulation by an intimate partner in the past 7 days, female, 18–60 years of age, English speaking, and able to consent. Neuropsychological, balance, and symptom assessments were administered at the first time point and again 3 months later. Participants also completed a standardized daily symptom inventory. Eight participants (73%) were recruited and completed daily inventories and the baseline assessment; 4 (36%) completed the baseline and 3-month assessments. Of the 4 participants who completed the 3-month assessment, none reported symptom resolution. Only balance returned to values consistent with normative values. Our results demonstrate the ability to recruit women who have experienced IPV-related strangulation during the post-acute phase of injury with less success retaining participants for a 90-day period for follow-up study. This pilot research protocol demonstrated the feasibility of recruitment from the emergency department and systematic evaluation of neuropsychological and functional symptoms in women who experienced strangulation in the context of IPV.

Purpose The Guardian Cap (GC) was designed to mitigate biomechanical forces to football helmets. This pilot study was designed to examine if the use of GCs reduced concussion frequency, total symptom severity (TST), and days-until-symptom-resolution (DUSR) following a SC in collegiate football athletes. We hypothesized the GCs would not decrease SC frequency, TST, or DUSR. Methods Participants (N=14) in our cross-sectional study were Division I collegiate football athletes who were diagnosed with a SC (20.0±1.32 years old) who did (GC; n=3) or did not (NoGC; n=11) wear the GC. Only SCs that occurred to athletes required to wear the GC during practice were included in our analyses. As spring practice was cancelled during 2020 due to COVID-19, only fall practices were included in our analyses. The head coach remained consistent during the NoGC and GC study periods. Descriptive statistics were used to examine concussion frequency. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare TST and DUSR between groups. Also, [interquartile range] could not be calculated for the GC group due to the low number of SCs. Results On median, the number of SCs decreased from 4 to 1.5 per season from the NoGC to the GC period. On median DUSR decreased from 13.5[11] to 5[n/a] for the NoGC and GC groups, respectively (U=9.50,z=-.93,p=.35). TST also decreased from 16[27] to 6[n/a] in the NoGC and GC groups, respectively (U=5.0,z=-1.79,p=.07). Conclusions GCs may potentially reduce concussion frequency, TST, and DUSR, however, future research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm and extend our findings.

Context: Athletes with a history of sport concussion (SC) have an increased risk of musculoskeletal injury (MSK); however, the underlying mechanisms have yet to be determined. The purpose of our study was to evaluate kinesiophobia in college athletes with or without a time-loss MSK within 180 days of unrestricted return to play following a SC. Design: This was a retrospective cohort study within a sports medicine facility. Methods: Participants were eligible if they were diagnosed with a SC, completed the Tampa Scale of Kinesiophobia (TSK), and completed an unrestricted return to play. Fifty-six college athletes (40 men and 16 women) with an average age of 19.5 (1.25) years, height of 183.5 (10.45) cm, and mass of 94.72 (24.65) kg, were included in the study. MSK participants were matched to non-MSK participants 1:1. Demographic and TSK outcome scores were compared using independent t tests. The proportion of participants in each group who scored above the clinical threshold (TSK ≥ 37) was compared using a chi-square analysis. Alpha was set at α = .05. Results: The MSK group (31.2 [6.30]) reported similar TSK scores to the matched group (28.9 [3.34]; t54 = 1.70, P = .10, d = 0.45 [0.08 to 0.97]). A greater proportion of athletes who were diagnosed with an MSK-reported scores above the cutoff (χ2[1] = 6.49, P = .01). Conclusions: Athletes diagnosed with SC had similar kinesiophobia values regardless of MSK status. However, a higher proportion of athletes with a time-loss MSK injury reported a TSK score greater than the clinical cutoff. Our results suggest that factors such as kinesiophobia should be considered following a SC.