Athletes interpret dynamic visual scenes quickly and accurately during physical exertion. It is important to understand how increased exertion may impact vision and cognition following sport-related concussion (SRC).
Purpose: To examine the effect of treadmill exercise on dynamic visual acuity (DVA) for athletes with and without SRC.
Methods:Varsity athletes following recent SRC (CONC=12) were compared to athletes without SRC (ATHLETE=19). The DVA task presented a Tumbling ‘E’ target in four possible orientations during random walk (RW) or horizontal (H) motion at a speed of 30°/s. Participants performed DVA trials standing on a force plate (1000Hz) at four time points: 1) pre-exercise (PRE-EX), 2) immediately (POST1), 3) 10-minutes (POST10), and 4) 20-minutes post- exercise (POST20). Performance was calculated as a change in DVA score from PRE-EX and median response time (RT, ms). Balance control was analyzed using the root mean square of centre of pressure displacement (dCOP).
Results: Both groups maintained DVA scores for both motion types with similar balance strategies post-exercise. CONC responded more slowly by POST10 and POST20 during RW-motion compared to ATHLETE.
Conclusion: Both groups elicited similar exercise-induced benefits on DVA following exercise. However, a portion of athletes with SRC may experience transient cognitive benefits following exercise.