Age is associated with postural control performance following youth concussion

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Pediatrics
• Sports Medicine

Background:

• Concussion is a common injury in children and adolescents.
• Postural control is frequently impaired after concussion.
• Age-related differences in recovery and symptom presentation are recognized, but specific impacts on early postural control are less understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the influence of age on postural control outcomes in patients during their initial post-concussion clinical evaluation.
• To compare the postural control performance between pediatric and adolescent populations shortly after a concussion.

Main Methods:

• Evaluated 109 children (8-12 years) and 353 adolescents (13-18 years) within 14 days of concussion.
• Utilized postural control assessments including tandem gait, Romberg tests, and the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS).
• Analyzed differences in performance between the two age groups, adjusting for relevant covariates.

Main Results:

• Children exhibited a higher rate of abnormal tandem gait compared to adolescents (26% vs. 11%).
• Children made significantly more errors on the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) in single and tandem stances.
• Adjusted analyses confirmed worse tandem gait and more BESS errors in children versus adolescents.

Conclusions:

• Post-concussion postural control, assessed via tandem gait and BESS, differs between children and adolescents presenting within two weeks of injury.
• Clinicians should consider age-specific performance variations when evaluating and managing concussions in pediatric and adolescent populations.