Citation

Powers KC, Pfaff LM, Cinelli ME. J. Biomech. 2021; 128: e110776.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110776

PMID

34628199

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Successful collision avoidance requires individuals to use readily available perceptual information to make decisions and act within their action capabilities. Female varsity rugby players use time-to-collision information to get closer to an obstacle before deviating; however, following a sport-related concussion (SRC), individuals may not be able to use the same strategies due to poorer action boundary perception. The current study examined the effects of a SRC on collision avoidance with an approaching person.

METHODS: Non-concussed female varsity rugby athletes (ATH, n = 10) and recently concussed but asymptomatic teammates (CONC, n = 3) were instructed to walk at a comfortable pace and avoid colliding with an approaching confederate. Time-to-collision (TTC), rate of medial-lateral (ML) avoidance, and ML spatial requirement were calculated and analyzed using mixed repeated measures ANOVAs.

FINDINGS: There were no physical characteristic differences between groups (p < 0.05) and no collisions occurred on any of the trials. However, CONC displayed larger TTC than ATH (p = 0.03), indicative of a more cautious avoidance strategy.

INTERPRETATION: While rugby players are trained to avoid opponents, a more cautious strategy following a SRC may reflect visuomotor detraining and changes in embodiment. This suggests that despite being asymptomatic, there is a reduced sense of agency during dynamic perception-action tasks and persistent alterations between pre-concussion and post-concussion self.

Language: en

Keywords

Collision avoidance; Human locomotion; Perception–action integration; Person-person interaction; Sport related concussion; Time-to-contact