Concussion and Balance in Sports

Abstract

Balance, spatial orientation and stable vision are imperative factors for sports or any other physical activity. It is achieved and maintained by a complex integration set of sensorimotor control systems that include sensory input from vision, proprioception or somatosensory and the vestibular system. A Sport-Related Concussion (SRC) is an individualized injury that presents a range of clinical signs and symptoms (cognitive, physical, emotional, somatic, and sleep-related). For this reason, SPR is a meaningful public health issue that involves a multidisciplinary team to properly manage it. In the sports medicine filed, Sports-Related Concussion assessment and management has become an argumentative issue. Presently, the consensus includes a combination of subjective examination, combined by multifactorial evaluation batteries that allowed to verify several components of brain function. Athletes frequently complain of dizziness and imbalance subsequent a concussion, and these symptoms can expect increased period to recover and return to play. Balance assessment is an important component of the concussion evaluation, as it can contribute with an awareness about the function of the sensorimotor systems.