Citation

Chermann JF, Romeas T, Marty F, Faubert J. BMJ Open Sport Exerc. Med. 2018; 4(1): e000384.

Affiliation

School of optometry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine, Publisher BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bmjsem-2018-000384

PMID

30305922

PMCID

PMC6173252

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: While the rate of sport-related concussion is increasing, more effective tools are needed to help monitor the diagnosis and return to play of athletes. The three-dimensional multiple-object tracking (3D-MOT) exercise is a perceptual-cognitive task that has shown predictive power towards the dynamic requirements of real-world activities such as sport. This study introduced the use of the 3D-MOT task, along with the Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) and Modified Balance Error Scoring System (M-BESS) tests, for diagnosis and return to play in professional sports.

METHODS: Fifty-nine professional athletes were tested with the 3D-MOT, SAC and M-BESS tests at 48 hours following the injury. The same measures were employed to evaluate the return to play following the standard concussion management protocol. The SAC and M-BESS tests were also performed in pre-season (baseline) in 32 out of the 59 athletes.

RESULTS: The injured athletes exhibited poor performance on 3D-MOT at 48 hours post injury compared with return to play (p<0.001) as well as compared with healthy professionals' performance scores (p<0.001). Importantly, learning rate, which participants are thought to have an expert advantage on this perceptual-cognitive task, was totally disrupted at 48 hours post injury compared with healthy professionals (p<0.001). The 3D-MOT performance was also correlated to the total number of symptoms (p=0.020), SAC (p=0.031) and M-BESS (p=0.004) scores at 48 hours. Not surprisingly, SAC and M-BESS tests' usefulness for monitoring concussion was found to be weak, particularly when test performance following the injury was compared to baseline (p=0.056 and 0.349 for SAC and M-BESS, respectively).

CONCLUSION: 3D-MOT could help monitor sport-related concussion in professional athletes. The discussion also covers the critical importance of perceptual-cognitive assessment following concussion in the athletic population.

Language: en

Keywords

3D-MOT; concussion; neurology; perceptual-cognitive skills; return to play; rugby; sporting injuries; trauma