Exploring Baseline Concussion-Assessment Performance in Adapted Wheelchair Sport Athletes

Abstract

<jats:sec> <jats:title>Context</jats:title> <jats:p>With growing awareness of and advocacy for including individuals with disabilities in sport, implementation of concussion-assessment and -management strategies is warranted. Limited research is available on concussion assessment in adapted wheelchair sport athletes.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Objective</jats:title> <jats:p>To examine baseline symptom reporting, computerized neurocognitive testing, and a modified balance scoring system in adapted athletes. A secondary objective was to provide preliminary normative data for this population.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Design</jats:title> <jats:p>Cross-sectional study.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Setting</jats:title> <jats:p>University athletic training room and computer laboratory.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Patients or Other Participants</jats:title> <jats:p>Twenty-one athletes (age = 22.1 ± 3.0 years) from 1 institution's collegiate adapted athletics program.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Main Outcome Measure(s)</jats:title> <jats:p>Athletes completed baseline Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) and the Wheelchair Error Scoring System (WESS) before the start of their respective seasons. Symptom reporting variables consisted of total symptoms, symptom severity scores, and baseline symptom factors (eg, vestibular-somatic, sleep arousal, cognitive-sensory, and affective). We analyzed ImPACT composite scores of verbal memory, visual memory, visual motor processing speed, and reaction time and impulse control to determine neurocognitive function. Balance performance was quantified using the WESS condition and overall errors.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Compared with normative reference values, 17 (81%) of adapted athletes reported greater symptoms and 20 (95%) performed at or below average on at least 1 neurocognitive composite score. Mean errors on the WESS were 3.14 ± 2.9, with 81% committing ≥1 error. Sex differences were not present for symptoms, neurocognitive testing, or balance measures.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>Our findings provide context for baseline performance in adapted athletes and help to further develop the WESS as an assessment of balance in these athletes.</jats:p> </jats:sec>

Head impact differences in blind football between Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games: video-based observational study

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King-Devick Test in Wheelchair Sports: Identifying Normative Values and Effects of Exertion on Outcomes

“…6,30,31 Norms for these sports exist but cannot simply be extrapolated because baseline concussion scores have been distinctly worse among disability sport athletes. [32][33][34] Baseline normative KD values are emerging for this population, [35][36][37] and impairment-specific variation in cognitive processing, visual processing, and executive functioning among disability sport populations affect the KD score. 38 The primary purpose of this study was to extend normative KD baseline values for contact disability sport athletes.…”

Analysis of wheelchair falls in team sports at the Paralympic Games: video-based descriptive comparison between the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 games

“…Moreover, the relationship between sports injury characteristics and the occurrence of falls in wheelchair team sports has not yet been presented. In the case of wheelchair sports, falls can result in head impacts and emergencies such as concussions, and research in the area of concussions has received increasing attention 5 6. Therefore, understanding the causes of falls during games is essential in considering the prevention of injury occurrence in these team sports, and more data needs to be collected.…”