Rochefort C, Walters-Stewart C, Aglipay M, Barrowman N, Zemek R, Sveistrup H. J. Sci. Med. Sport 2017; 20(11): 970-975.
Affiliation
University of Ottawa, School of Human Kinetics, Faculty of Health Sciences, Canada; University of Ottawa, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, Canada; Bruyère Research Institute, Canada. Electronic address: Heidi.Sveistrup@uottawa.ca.
OBJECTIVES: To determine if self-reported balance symptoms can be used as a proxy for measures of the center of pressure (COP) to identify balance deficits in a group of concussed adolescents.
DESIGN: Case-control.
METHODS: Thirteen adolescents 1-month post-concussion who reported ongoing balance problems (Balance+), 20 adolescent 1-month post-concussion who reported no balance problems (Balance-), and 30 non-injured adolescents (control) completed a series of balance tests. Participants completed two 2-min trials standing on a Nintendo Wii Balance Board™ during which the COP under their feet was recorded: i) double-leg stance, eyes open; ii) double-leg stance, eyes closed. Participants also completed a dual-task condition combining a double-leg stance and a Stroop Colour-word test.
RESULTS: Participants in both the Balance+ and Balance- group swayed over a larger ellipse area compared to the control group while completing the Eyes Closed (Balance+, p=0.002; Balance-, p=0.002) and Dual-Task (Balance+, p=0.001; Balance-, p=0.004) conditions and performed the Dual-Task condition with faster medio-lateral velocity (Balance+, p=0.003; Balance-, p=0.009). The participants in the Balance- group also swayed over a larger ellipse area compared to the control group while completing the Eyes Open condition (p=0.005). No significant differences were identified between the Balance+ and Balance- groups.
CONCLUSIONS: At 1-month post-concussion, adolescents demonstrated balance deficits compared to non-injured adolescents regardless of whether they reported balance problems. These results suggest that self-reported balance status might not be an accurate reflection of balance performance following a concussion in adolescents.