Effect of Acute Exercise on Clinically Measured Reaction Time in Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

Purpose We have developed a reliable and valid clinical test of reaction time (RTclin) that is sensitive to the acute effects of concussion. If RTclin is to be used as a sideline concussion assessment tool then the acute effects of exercise on RTclin may need to be controlled for. The purpose of this study is therefore to determine the effect of exercise on RTclin. Methods A gender balanced group of 42 collegiate athletes were assigned to an exercise (n=28) and a control (n=14) group using 2:1 block randomization. The exercise group completed a graded 4-stage exercise protocol on a stationary bicycle (100W × 5min; 150W × 5min; 200W × 5min; sprint × 2min) while the control group was tested at identical time periods without exercising. Mean RTclin was calculated over 8 trials as the fall time of a vertically-suspended rigid shaft after its release by the examiner before being caught by the athlete; RTclin was measured at baseline and after each of the 4 stages. Results As both heart rate and rate of perceived exertion significantly increased over the 4 stages in the exercise group (p<.001), mean RTclin showed a significant overall decline during repeated test administration (p<.008). However, there were no significant group (exercise vs. control, p=0.822) or group-by-stage interaction (p=0.169) effects on RTclin as assessed by repeated measures analysis of variance. Conclusion Exercise did not appear to affect RTclin performance in this study. This suggests that RTclin measured during a sideline concussion assessment does not need to be adjusted to account for the acute effects of exercise.

Increasing cardiopulmonary aerobic activity improves motor cognitive response time: An inference from preliminary one-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental study

“…There exists significance difference, p < 0.001 between them. MCRT among the young college male is greater than reported by Reddy et al 4 (214 ± 18 ms) and Eckner et al 5 (247 ± 75 ms) in college athletes. This difference might attribute to the regular training session by the athletes.…”

What tests and measures should be added to the SCAT3 and related tests to improve their reliability, sensitivity and/or specificity in sideline concussion diagnosis? A systematic review

“…Practice effects (ie, faster responses) for RTclin were noted over a 5-week period, with the most pronounced improvement in reaction time occurring between the first two trials47. A third study53 found no association between exercise and reaction time, although a practice effect was found for both the experimental exercise group and the non-exercising controls. Additionally, females had slower reaction time than males.…”

Evaluation of a Simple Test of Reaction Time for Baseline Concussion Testing in a Population of High School Athletes

“…‡Slower than football and boys' soccer players in 2011; P , 0.001. before a workout, and some would present after a workout. Some studies in the literature have found a differential effect of exercise on reaction time, 29,30 although a recent study by Reddy et al 31 showed that RT clin itself was not affected by recent exercise. In addition, there were some student-athletes in both years who were not baseline tested simply because they did not show up on test day.…”