@article{ref1,
title="Balance control in youth hockey players with and without a history of concussions during a lower limb reaching task",
journal="Clinical biomechanics",
year="2019",
author="Mitchell, Katelyn M. and Cinelli, Michael E.",
volume="67",
number="",
pages="142-147",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Sport-related concussion (SRC) is a functional injury that affects several clinical domains, including balance and cognition. The purpose of this study was, 1) to determine whether a lower limb visuomotor task could identify balance control differences between youth athletes with and without previous SRC; and 2) if balance is affected by training over time. <br><br>METHODS: Youth hockey players (n = 34) who reported previous SRC (CONCUSSED; n = 12; mean age = 14.4 yrs., SD = 1.6, mean time from injury = 1.9 yrs., median = 1.7 yrs. [0.6-4.6]) and no history of SRC (CONTROL; n = 22; mean age = 14.7, SD = 1.5) were tested twice over 70 days. Participants stood in single support on a Nintendo Wii Balance board sampled at 100 Hz and performed Go/No-Go tasks with each foot. Five FitLight Trainer™ (Aurora, ON) lights were arranged on the floor at 60°, 30°, and 0° and illuminated in random GREEN (Go) or RED (No-Go). Balance was assessed using root mean square displacement and velocity of CoP in anterior-posterior and medial-lateral directions. <br><br>FINDINGS: CONCUSSED had significantly lower velocity of CoP in the anterior-posterior (F<sub>(1, 32)</sub> = 13.81, p < .001) and medial-lateral (F<sub>(1, 32)</sub> = 13.80, p < .001) directions than CONTROL, with no learning effects over time (anterior-posterior: F<sub>(1, 32)</sub> = 0.30, p = .137: F<sub>(1, 32)</sub> = 0.91, p = .346; medial-lateral: F<sub>(1, 32)</sub> = 0.91, p = .346). These findings suggest that CONCUSSED consistently performed the task more conservatively. <br><br>INTERPRETATION: A lower limb Go/No-Go task may objectively identify differences between youth athletes with and without previous SRC. These visuomotor and balance control deficits may persist beyond clinical recovery.<br><br>Crown Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0268-0033",
doi="10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.05.006",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.clinbiomech.2019.05.006"
}