Assessing Subconcussive Head Impacts in Athletes Playing Contact Sports—The Eyes Have It

2019 ◽  
Vol 137 (3) ◽  
pp. 270 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ann C. McKee ◽  
Michael L. Alosco
Keyword(s):  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts

Head Kinematics by Contact Scenarios in Youth Ice Hockey

Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 95 (20 Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. S1.1-S1
Author(s):  
Abigail Swenson ◽  
Logan Miller ◽  
Jillian Urban ◽  
Joel Stitzel
Keyword(s):  
Rotational Velocity ◽  
Angular Acceleration ◽  
Linear Acceleration ◽  
Head Impact ◽  
Ice Hockey ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts ◽  
Rigorous Study ◽  
Improving Accuracy ◽  
Impact Events

ObjectiveThe objective of this pilot study was to characterize head impact exposure in a sample of youth boys' ice hockey using a novel instrumented mouthpiece, improving accuracy.BackgroundFrom 2010 to 2018 youth ice hockey saw a 15% increase in participation, despite growing concerns for concussion risk in contact sports. While contact sports with similar rates of concussion have been subjected to rigorous study, head impact exposure in youth ice hockey has been largely underexplored. Existing youth studies have utilized helmet-mounted sensors, which are associated with error due to poor coupling with the skull.Design/MethodsCustom mouthpieces containing a tri-axial accelerometer and gyroscope were fit to seven enrolled athletes, and monitored during practices and games throughout the season. Linear acceleration and rotational velocity of the head were recorded for 60 ms when 5 g was exceeded on any axis for at least 3 ms. Time-synchronized film was reviewed to identify the contact scenario and head contact. Summary statistics of kinematics were calculated by scenario and presence of head contact.ResultsA total of 465 events were recorded over 25 weeks. Of these events 25% involved head contact; 92% of all contact scenarios were board checks, falls, or ice checks. Events involving head contact (i.e., head impacts) had median [95th percentile] peak linear acceleration, rotational velocity, and angular acceleration of 8.1 [30.9] g, 7.9 [20.2] rad/s, and 614 [2673] rad/s2, respectively. Events not involving head contact had median [95th percentile] peak linear acceleration, rotational velocity, and angular acceleration of 6.6 [43.8] g, 6.5 [17.5] rad/s, and 455 [4115] rad/s2, respectively.ConclusionsThe majority of the recorded events could be classified as board checks, falls, or ice checks. Median peak kinematics were higher for head impacts than non-head impact events. In contrast, 95th percentile linear and angular accelerations were greater for impacts not involving head contact.

Frequency and Magnitude of Game-Related Head Impacts in Male Contact Sports Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 49 (10) ◽  
pp. 1575-1583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack V. K. Nguyen ◽  
James H. Brennan ◽  
Biswadev Mitra ◽  
Catherine Willmott
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts

Arachnoid Trabeculae and CSF Roles in Blunt Head Impacts

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Zoghi-Moghadam ◽  
Ali Sadegh ◽  
Charles Watkins
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Relative Motion ◽  
Brain Injuries ◽  
Shear Stresses ◽  
Two Dimensional ◽  
Global Models ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts ◽  
The Brain

The blunt head impacts due to vehicular collisions, contact sports or falls cause relative motion between the brain and skull and an increase in contact and shear stresses in meningeal region. Several models have been developed to better understand brain injuries. In this study the mechanical role of the fibrous trabeculae and the Cerebrospinal Fluid (CSF) in Subarachnoid space (SAS) is investigated. Two-dimensional solid and fluid global models of the head and a local model of the SAS trabeculae were developed. The CSF pressure distribution and the trabeculae deformations were determined. It is concluded that the arachnoid trabeculae reduce the pressure in the CSF and both play a major role in damping the blunt head impact.

scholarly journals Role of subconcussion in repetitive mild traumatic brain injury

2013 ◽  
Vol 119 (5) ◽  
pp. 1235-1245 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian E. Bailes ◽  
Anthony L. Petraglia ◽  
Bennet I. Omalu ◽  
Eric Nauman ◽  
Thomas Talavage
Keyword(s):  
Diffusion Tensor ◽  
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ◽  
Neuropsychological Testing ◽  
Axonal Injury ◽  
Laboratory Data ◽  
Neurological Dysfunction ◽  
Neurological Injury ◽  
Cumulative Impact ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts

Research now suggests that head impacts commonly occur during contact sports in which visible signs or symptoms of neurological dysfunction may not develop despite those impacts having the potential for neurological injury. Recent biophysics studies utilizing helmet accelerometers have indicated that athletes at the collegiate and high school levels sustain a surprisingly high number of head impacts ranging from several hundred to well over 1000 during the course of a season. The associated cumulative impact burdens over the course of a career are equally important. Clinical studies have also identified athletes with no readily observable symptoms but who exhibit functional impairment as measured by neuropsychological testing and functional MRI. Such findings have been corroborated by diffusion tensor imaging studies demonstrating axonal injury in asymptomatic athletes at the end of a season. Recent autopsy data have shown that there are subsets of athletes in contact sports who do not have a history of known or identified concussions but nonetheless have neurodegenerative pathology consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Finally, emerging laboratory data have demonstrated significant axonal injury, blood-brain barrier permeability, and evidence of neuroinflammation, all in the absence of behavioral changes. Such data suggest that subconcussive level impacts can lead to significant neurological alterations, especially if the blows are repetitive. The authors propose “subconcussion” as a significant emerging concept requiring thorough consideration of the potential role it plays in accruing sufficient anatomical and/or physiological damage in athletes and military personnel, such that the effects of these injuries are clinically expressed either contemporaneously or later in life.

Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and Neuropathological Comorbidities

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (04) ◽  
pp. 384-393
Author(s):  
Thor D. Stein ◽  
John F. Crary
Keyword(s):  
Traumatic Brain Injury ◽  
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ◽  
Lewy Body Disease ◽  
Single Individual ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts ◽  
Repetitive Head Impacts ◽  
Age Related ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Lateral Sclerosis

AbstractWith age, the presence of multiple neuropathologies in a single individual becomes increasingly common. Given that traumatic brain injury and the repetitive head impacts (RHIs) that occur in contact sports have been associated with the development of many neurodegenerative diseases, including chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), Alzheimer's disease, Lewy body disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, it is becoming critical to understand the relationship and interactions between these pathologies. In fact, comorbid pathology is common in CTE and likely influenced by both age and the severity and type of exposure to RHI as well as underlying genetic predisposition. Here, we review the major comorbid pathologies seen with CTE and in former contact sports athletes and discuss what is known about the associations between RHI, age, and the development of neuropathologies. In addition, we examine the distinction between CTE and age-related pathology including primary age-related tauopathy and age-related tau astrogliopathy.

scholarly journals COllaborative Neuropathology NEtwork Characterizing ouTcomes of TBI (CONNECT-TBI)

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas H. Smith ◽  
Jean-Pierre Dollé ◽  
Kamar E. Ameen-Ali ◽  
Abigail Bretzin ◽  
Etty Cortes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy ◽  
Clinical Information ◽  
Illustrative Case ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts ◽  
Repetitive Head Impacts ◽  
Dementia Risk ◽  
Stroke Center ◽  
Tissue Specimens ◽  
Multiple Experts

AbstractEfforts to characterize the late effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have been in progress for some time. In recent years much of this activity has been directed towards reporting of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in former contact sports athletes and others exposed to repetitive head impacts. However, the association between TBI and dementia risk has long been acknowledged outside of contact sports. Further, growing experience suggests a complex of neurodegenerative pathologies in those surviving TBI, which extends beyond CTE. Nevertheless, despite extensive research, we have scant knowledge of the mechanisms underlying TBI-related neurodegeneration (TReND) and its link to dementia. In part, this is due to the limited number of human brain samples linked to robust demographic and clinical information available for research. Here we detail a National Institutes for Neurological Disease and Stroke Center Without Walls project, the COllaborative Neuropathology NEtwork Characterizing ouTcomes of TBI (CONNECT-TBI), designed to address current limitations in tissue and research access and to advance understanding of the neuropathologies of TReND. As an international, multidisciplinary collaboration CONNECT-TBI brings together multiple experts across 13 institutions. In so doing, CONNECT-TBI unites the existing, comprehensive clinical and neuropathological datasets of multiple established research brain archives in TBI, with survivals ranging minutes to many decades and spanning diverse injury exposures. These existing tissue specimens will be supplemented by prospective brain banking and contribute to a centralized route of access to human tissue for research for investigators. Importantly, each new case will be subject to consensus neuropathology review by the CONNECT-TBI Expert Pathology Group. Herein we set out the CONNECT-TBI program structure and aims and, by way of an illustrative case, the approach to consensus evaluation of new case donations.

Validation of a Custom Instrumented Retainer Form Factor for Measuring Linear and Angular Head Impact Kinematics

2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Logan E. Miller ◽  
Calvin Kuo ◽  
Lyndia C. Wu ◽  
Jillian E. Urban ◽  
David B. Camarillo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Form Factor ◽  
Degrees Of Freedom ◽  
Rotational Velocity ◽  
Linear Acceleration ◽  
Head Impact ◽  
Contact Sports ◽  
Head Impacts ◽  
Sensing Technology ◽  
The One ◽  
Impact Data

Head impact exposure in popular contact sports is not well understood, especially in the youth population, despite recent advances in impact-sensing technology which has allowed widespread collection of real-time head impact data. Previous studies indicate that a custom-instrumented mouthpiece is a superior method for collecting accurate head acceleration data. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of mounting a sensor device inside an acrylic retainer form factor to measure six-degrees-of-freedom (6DOF) head kinematic response. This study compares 6DOF mouthpiece kinematics at the head center of gravity (CG) to kinematics measured by an anthropomorphic test device (ATD). This study found that when instrumentation is mounted in the rigid retainer form factor, there is good coupling with the upper dentition and highly accurate kinematic results compared to the ATD. Peak head kinematics were correlated with r2 > 0.98 for both rotational velocity and linear acceleration and r2 = 0.93 for rotational acceleration. These results indicate that a rigid retainer-based form factor is an accurate and promising method of collecting head impact data. This device can be used to study head impacts in helmeted contact sports such as football, hockey, and lacrosse as well as nonhelmeted sports such as soccer and basketball. Understanding the magnitude and frequency of impacts sustained in various sports using an accurate head impact sensor, such as the one presented in this study, will improve our understanding of head impact exposure and sports-related concussion.

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