Head impact exposure comparison between male and female amateur rugby league participants measured with an instrumented patch

Background: Concussion in sport is a topic of growing interest in Australia and worldwide. To date, relatively few studies have examined the true incidence of concussion in cricket. Hypothesis: Concussion in cricket is more common than current literature suggests. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Level of Evidence: Level 4. Methods: This is a prospective registry and subsequent analysis of head impacts and concussions in elite-level male and female cricketers in Australia over 2 seasons (2015-2016 and 2016-2017). A total of 172 male and 106 female domestic and international players in 2015-2016 and 179 males and 98 females in 2016-2017 were included. Results: There were 92 head impacts (29 concussions) in men’s matches and 15 head impacts (8 concussions) in women’s matches. Match incidence rates per 1000 player days were 7.2 head impacts (2.3 concussions) in elite male cricket and 3.7 head impacts (2.0 concussions) in elite female cricket. This equates to a head impact every 2000 balls and concussion every 9000 balls in male domestic cricket. Concussion rates per 1000 player-match hours were 0.4 for elite males and 0.5 for elite females; 53% of head impacts in females were diagnosed as concussions compared with 32% in males, and 83% of concussions resulted in missing no more than 1 game. Conclusion: The rate of concussion in cricket is higher than previously appreciated; however, the majority of patients recovered quickly, and players generally did not miss much playing time as a result. The institution of concussion policies after head impact, including player substitution, appears to have had an effect on increasing reporting of symptoms, resulting in an increase in diagnosis of concussion. Clinical Relevance: Concussion in cricket is not as infrequent as previously assumed. Ongoing review of the rules and regulations is required to ensure that protection of player welfare lies in parallel with other sporting codes.

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Reliability of Using the Proposed International Consensus Video Signs of Potential Concussion for National Rugby League Head Impact Events

Neurosurgery ◽

10.1093/neuros/nyaa437 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew J Gardner

Keyword(s):

Characteristic Curve ◽

Area Under The Curve ◽

Rugby League ◽

Head Impact ◽

International Consensus ◽

Global Consistency ◽

Definition Of ◽

Sensitivity Specificity ◽

Individual Sports ◽

Impact Events

Abstract BACKGROUND Consensus on the definition of extant video signs of concussion have recently been proposed by representatives of international sporting codes for global consistency across professional leagues. OBJECTIVE To review the reliability of the proposed international consensus video signs of concussion in National Rugby League (NRL) head impact events (HIEs). METHODS The video signs of concussion were coded for every HIE during the 2019 NRL season. Coding was conducted blinded to the concussion status. Frequency, sensitivity, specificity, and a receiver operating characteristic curve were calculated. RESULTS There were 943 HIEs identified over the 2019 NRL season, of which 106 resulted in a diagnosed concussion. The most frequently observed video sign in concussed athletes was blank/vacant look (54%), which was also the most sensitive video sign (0.54, CI: 0.44-0.63), while the most specific was tonic posturing (0.99, CI: 0.99-1.00). In 43.4% of diagnosed concussions none of the 6 video signs were present. The 6 video signs demonstrated a “fair” ability to discriminate between concussion and nonconcussion HIEs (area under the curve = 0.76). CONCLUSION International consensus agreement between collision sports for extant video signs of concussion and the definition of those extant video signs are clinically important. The selection of signs requires rigorous assessment to examine their predictive value across all sports and within individual sports, and to determine further video signs to compliment and improve the identification of possible concussion events within various sports. The current study demonstrated that, for NRL-related HIEs, the diagnostic accuracy of video signs varies.

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Head impact exposure from match participation in women’s rugby league over one season of domestic competition

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport ◽

10.1016/j.jsams.2017.10.026 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 21 (2) ◽

pp. 139-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Doug A. King ◽

Patria A. Hume ◽

Conor Gissane ◽

David C. Kieser ◽

Trevor N. Clark

Keyword(s):

Rugby League ◽

Head Impact

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Examining Whether Onfield Motor Incoordination Is Associated With Worse Performance on the SCAT5 and Slower Clinical Recovery Following Concussion

Frontiers in Neurology ◽

10.3389/fneur.2020.620872 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 ◽

Author(s):

Grant L. Iverson ◽

Ryan Van Patten ◽

Andrew J. Gardner

Keyword(s):

Assessment Tool ◽

Rugby League ◽

Head Impact ◽

Balance Performance ◽

Balance Test ◽

Video Footage ◽

Motor Incoordination ◽

Medical Clearance ◽

Impact Events ◽

Balance Problems

Objective: To examine the relationship between video-identified onfield motor incoordination, the acute assessment of concussion, and recovery time during three seasons of National Rugby League (NRL) play.Methods: Blows to the head (“head impact events”) were recorded by sideline video operators and medical staff. Any player with a suspected concussion underwent a Head Injury Assessment in which he was taken off the field and medically evaluated, including the administration of the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool, 5th Edition (SCAT5). Video footage was later examined to determine the presence or absence of onfield motor incoordination following the head impact event.Results: Motor incoordination was identified in 100/1,706 head impact events (5.9%); 65 of the 100 instances of motor incoordination (65.0%) were ultimately medically diagnosed with a concussion. In 646 athletes for whom SCAT5 data were available, those with motor incoordination were more likely to report both dizziness and balance problems than those without motor incoordination, but there were no group differences on an objective balance test. Additionally, there was no relationship between presence/absence of motor incoordination and number of games missed or time to medical clearance for match play.Conclusion: In NRL players, motor incoordination is a readily observable onfield sign that is strongly associated with a medical diagnosis of concussion and with self-reported dizziness/balance problems. However, onfield motor incoordination is not associated with objective balance performance and it is not predictive of time to recover following concussion.

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The effect of ball characteristics on head impact magnitude during purposeful heading in adolescent male and female football players

Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport ◽

10.1016/j.jsams.2021.09.132 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 24 ◽

pp. S52

Author(s):

J. Andersen ◽

J. Caccese ◽

C. Esopenko ◽

A. Fu ◽

M. McKay ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Head Impact ◽

Adolescent Male ◽

Football Players ◽

Male And Female

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In-Game Head Impact Exposure of Male and Female High School Soccer Players

Athletic Training & Sports Health Care ◽

10.3928/19425864-20180802-02 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 11 (4) ◽

pp. 174-182 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Derek Nevins ◽

Kasee Hildenbrand ◽

Anita Vasavada ◽

Jeff Kensrud ◽

Lloyd Smith

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Head Impact ◽

Soccer Players ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female High School

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Variations in Head Impact Rates in Male and Female High School Soccer

Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise ◽

10.1249/mss.0000000000002567 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽

Author(s):

Colin M. Huber ◽

Declan A. Patton ◽

Divya Jain ◽

Christina L. Master ◽

Susan S. Margulies ◽

...

Keyword(s):

High School ◽

Head Impact ◽

Male And Female ◽

Female High School

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Head Impact Characteristics Based on Player Position in Collegiate Soccer Athletes

International Journal of Athletic Therapy & Training ◽

10.1123/ijatt.2019-0095 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Katelyn M. Nelson ◽

Elizabeth H.K. Daidone ◽

Katherine M. Breedlove ◽

Debbie A. Bradney ◽

Thomas G. Bowman

Keyword(s):

Significant Interaction ◽

Ncaa Division Iii ◽

Head Impact ◽

Division Iii ◽

Study Objective ◽

Male And Female ◽

Head Impacts ◽

Impact Characteristics

The study objective was to determine the magnitude and frequency of head impacts in NCAA Division III soccer athletes based on player position and type of play (offense, defense, transition). Across player position, male and female soccer defenders sustained the most head impacts (males IR = 18.89, 95% CI = 16.89–20.89; females IR = 8.45, 95% CI = 7.25–9.64; IRR = 2.23, 95% CI = 1.87–2.67). The study revealed a nonstatistically significant interaction between sex, player position, and type of play for both linear (p = .42) and rotational accelerations (p = .16). Defenders sustained the majority of the head impacts in the study sample, suggesting preventative initiatives should be focused on back row players.

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