Daily Heart Rate Variability before and after Concussion in an American College Football Player

Abstract

This case report demonstrates the effects of sport-related concussion (SRC) on heart rate variability (HRV) in an American college football player. Daily measures of resting, ultra-short natural logarithm of the root mean square of successive differences (LnRMSSD), subjective wellbeing, and Player Load were obtained each training day throughout a 4-week spring camp and 4 weeks of preseason training. SRC occurred within the first 2 weeks of the preseason. During spring camp and preseason pre-SRC, the athlete demonstrated minimal day-to-day fluctuations in LnRMSSD, which increased post-SRC (LnRMSSD coefficient of variation pre-SRC ≤ 3.1%, post-SRC = 5.8%). Moderate decrements in daily-averaged LnRMSSD were observed post-SRC relative to pre-SRC (Effect Size ± 90% Confidence Interval = −1.12 ± 0.80), and the 7-day rolling average fell below the smallest worthwhile change for the remainder of the preseason. LnRMSSD responses to SRC appeared similar to trends associated with stress and training fatigue. Therefore, performance and sports medicine staff should maintain regular communication regarding player injury and fatigue status so that HRV can be interpreted in the appropriate context. Detection and monitoring of autonomic dysregulation post-SRC may require near-daily assessment, as LnRMSSD showed greater daily fluctuations rather than chronic suppression following the head injury.

Physiological and Biomechanical Monitoring in American Football Players: A Scoping Review

“…Most of the papers [ 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 ] dealt with the topic of training loads in American football athletes and all of them measured external loads. Eight papers [ 147 , 153 , 154 , 159 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 168 ] measured internal load.…”

“…Most of the papers [ 144 , 145 , 146 , 147 , 148 , 149 , 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 , 154 , 155 , 156 , 157 , 158 , 159 , 160 , 161 , 162 , 163 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 167 , 168 ] dealt with the topic of training loads in American football athletes and all of them measured external loads. Eight papers [ 147 , 153 , 154 , 159 , 164 , 165 , 166 , 168 ] measured internal load. Investigations of physical demands during practices were reported by five papers [ 144 , 151 , 157 , 163 , 167 ], whereas another five papers focused on game demands [ 145 , 148 , 150 , 158 ].…”

Normative values of resting heart rate variability in young male contact sport athletes: Reference values for the assessment and treatment of concussion

“…The degree of alterations in post-TBI HRV parameters has been associated with trauma severity, intracranial pressure, functional outcomes and survival in both adults and children ( 21 – 29 ). The effectiveness of using HRV in the assessment and monitoring of TBI rehabilitation has encouraged other investigators to explore its effectiveness in the assessment of concussions (CC) ( 30 – 38 ).…”

A Neuro-Integrative Assessment of Perceptual-Motor Performance and Wellness in ROTC Cadets

“…In this way, elevated resting HRV has been linked to optimal executive control of goal-directed behaviors and such neurocognitive processes as working memory, selective attention, inhibition, and cognitive flexibility (Williams et al, 2019a). Interestingly, an average index of HRV values obtained on separate days has been inversely associated with the magnitude of day-to-day HRV fluctuations over the same time period (Flatt et al, 2019). Thus, the concept of heterostasis was introduced to represent the association between high variability in heartbeat intervals observed during a given recording session and low day-to-day variability in corresponding measurements over time.…”