Long-term impact of mild traumatic brain injury on postural stability and executive function

A substantial number of individuals present with prolonged symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) or concussion. This has warranted the development of assessment tools that can reliably detect prolonged symptoms after an mTBI. At present, a gold standard diagnostic tool for accurately identifying such prolonged symptoms is not available. The purpose of this study is to utilize specific measures of standing balance, cognitive function, and bimanual coordination to examine persisting long-term deficits in individuals with mTBI.

A total of 18 (medically diagnosed with an mTBI within the last year) and 14 (healthy age-matched controls) individuals participated in the study. Assessment tools included NIH Toolbox Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB), TEMPA, and Purdue pegboard (bimanual coordination) and standing balance on a force platform.

Individuals with mTBI demonstrated lower scores in all measures of cognition with statistically significant difference (p = 0.03) in executive function. The clinical tests of bimanual coordination did not show any statistically significant differences between groups. Postural stability was significantly reduced (p = 0.039) in the mTBI group.

Our results show long-term performance deficits (cognition and postural stability) that persist in individuals with mTBI. In addition, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to identify cognitive deficits in individuals with mTBI by utilizing NIHTB-CB. Knowledge gained from this study might affect decisions of return-to-play or return-to-learn in individuals with a history of mTBI(s).