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Updated: May 14, 2026
A Multi-Modal Approach to Assessing Recovery in Youth Athletes Following Concussion
Published on: September 25, 2014
A prospective study of symptoms and neurocognitive outcomes in youth with concussion vs orthopaedic injuries
Brian P Rieger1, Lawrence J Lewandowski, James M Callahan
1Department of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, USA. riegerb@upstate.edu
Insights
Children with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) reported more symptoms initially than those with orthopaedic injury (OI), but visual memory deficits persisted at 3 months for the mTBI group.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric neurology
- Neuropsychology
- Sports medicine
Background:
- Mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and orthopaedic injuries (OI) are common in children.
- Understanding neurocognitive outcomes and symptom reporting is crucial for recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare symptom reports and neurocognitive outcomes in children with mTBI versus OI.
- To assess changes in symptoms and cognition at 3 months post-injury.
Main Methods:
- Children (8-17 years) with mTBI or OI were assessed at injury and 3 months.
- Neurocognitive testing included ImPACT and PPVT-III; parent-reported executive function via BRIEF.
Main Results:
- mTBI group initially reported more symptoms, but groups were similar at 3 months.
- mTBI group showed poorer visual memory on ImPACT at both time points.
- OI group exhibited higher parent-reported executive dysfunction on BRIEF initially and at 3 months.
Conclusions:
- Initial symptom reporting differed between mTBI and OI, but not at 3 months.
- ImPACT and BRIEF did not consistently differentiate groups, except for mTBI visual memory deficits.
Background:
This study examined symptom reports and neurocognitive outcomes in children (8-17 years) with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or orthopaedic injury (OI).
Method:
Children and parents were initially assessed upon presentation in the Emergency Department of a local hospital and again at 3 months. Children completed the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing battery (ImPACT) and parents completed the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF). The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 3rd edition (PPVT-III) was completed by the children at the 3-month assessment.
Results:
Children with mTBI reported more symptoms than the OI group initially, but did not differ from the OI group at 3 months. Both groups reported a higher than expected number of symptoms at 3 months. On the ImPACT, children with mTBI performed significantly worse than the OI on a visual memory test at both assessments. The OI group had higher levels of parent-reported executive dysfunction on the BRIEF at initial and 3-month assessments.
Discussion:
As expected, more post-concussion symptoms were initially reported by children and adolescents with mTBI vs orthopaedic injury, but there was no difference at 3 months. The BRIEF and ImPACT cognitive measures did not differentiate concussed subjects from controls, with the exception of concussed subjects' lower performance on a visual memory test at both initial assessment and at 3 months.
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