Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 15, 2025
A Neuroscientific Approach to the Examination of Concussions in Student-Athletes
Published on: December 8, 2014
Use of Reactive Balance Assessments With Clinical Baseline Concussion Assessments in Collegiate Athletes
Amanda Morris1, Tessa L Petersell1, Ryan Pelo2
1Department of Health & Kinesiology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City.
Context:
Current clinical concussion evaluations assess balance deficits using static or dynamic balance tasks while largely ignoring reactive balance. Including a reactive balance assessment might provide a more comprehensive concussion evaluation.
Objectives:
To identify redundancy in current clinical baseline assessments of concussion and determine whether reactive balance adds unique information to these evaluations.
Design:
Cross-sectional study.
Setting:
Clinical assessment.
Patients Or Other Participants:
A total of 279 healthy National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I athletes.
Intervention(S):
Two cohorts of data were collected at the beginning of the athletic season. For cohort 1 (n = 191), the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Tool, instrumented modified push and release (I-mP&R), and Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) were administered. For cohort 2 (n = 88), the I-mP&R, BESS, timed tandem gait, walking with eyes closed, and clinical reaction time were administered.
Main Outcome Measure(S):
The strengths of the relationships between the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Tool cognitive indices, mP&R clinical score, instrumented measures (BESS sway; I-mP&R time to stability, latency, and step length), BESS score, timed tandem gait, walking time to completion, and clinical reaction time were characterized.
Results:
The strongest interinstrument correlation value was between single-task time to stability from the I-mP&R and clinical reaction time but was considered weak (r = 0.35, P = .001). The mP&R and I-mP&R clinical scores were weakly associated with the other assessments.
Conclusions:
Weak correlations between interassessment variables indicated that little redundancy was present in the current clinical evaluations. Furthermore, reactive balance represents a unique domain of function that may improve the comprehensiveness of clinical assessments.
