Examination of concussions and their effect on functional movement screen scores in collegiate athletes
Date
2018
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
It is estimated that between 1.6 and 3.8 million concussions are sustained
annually in the United States from sport and recreational activity alone, with 3.9% of
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) athletes experiencing a concussion
each year. While impairments in postural control, including static and dynamic
balance, are known acute effects of a concussion, there has been evidence in recent
studies hypothesizing that these deficits may persist beyond the initial 5-10 day
recovery stage. One commonly used measure of overall movement quality in
collegiate athletics involves the Functional Movement Screen (FMS) however its’ use
in concussion management has not been thoroughly examined. Therefore, the purpose
of this study was to retrospectively compare FMS scores in a group of concussed and
non-concussed student-athletes. Concussion injury history as well as FMS baseline
data from the 2015-2017 academic years, were retrospectively analyzed. Concussion
history and baseline FMS scores were derived from a large database. The FMS
composite score (ranging from 0-21) as well as the individual component scores
(ranging from 0-3) were derived for each subject. The independent variables were
group status: concussed vs. control, previous concussion history, and baseline 1 (B1)
vs. baseline 2 (B2) FMS test time points. The dependent variables were the FMS
component and composite scores. Our results showed no statistical differences
between FMS composite scores from B1 to B2, or between groups. Interestingly, the
deep squat component score was significantly different within the concussion group,
actually showing improvement from B1 to B2. The results of our study provide further
evidence in support of the current literature suggesting that FMS scores have little to
no ability to detect lingering functional movement deficits up to one year post
concussion. Those responsible for athlete performance and wellbeing may need to
look at other measures of functional movement such as the tandem gait task, or other
balance and strength measurements; to better recognize potential movement
deficiencies, that may pose potential risks for student-athletes returning to sport.
Description
Keywords
Health and environmental sciences, Concussion, Functional movement screen