@article{ref1,
title="Balance markers and saccadic eye-movement measures in adolescents with postconcussion syndrome",
journal="Journal of athletic training",
year="2020",
author="Rochefort, Coralie and Legace, Elizabeth and Boulay, Chadwick and Macartney, Gail and Goulet, Kristian and Zemek, Roger and Sveistrup, Heidi",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="CONTEXT: Deficits in both balance and oculomotor function, including impairments in saccadic eye movements, are observed in approximately 30% of patients postconcussion. Whereas balance and saccadic eye movements are routinely assessed separately, growing evidence suggests that they should be assessed concurrently. <br><br>OBJECTIVE: To compare balance measures and saccades between adolescents 1 to 3 months postconcussion and healthy uninjured adolescents. <br><br>DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Concussion clinic and 2 private schools. PATIENTS OR OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-five adolescents (10 boys, 15 girls; median [interquartile range (IQR)] age = 14 years [11.5-16 years]) between 1 and 3 months postconcussion (median [IQR] time since injury = 39.5 days [30-56.75 days]) and 33 uninjured adolescents (18 boys, 15 girls; median [IQR] age = 13 years [11.5-14 years]). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): The center-of-pressure 95% ellipse area and medial-lateral and anterior-posterior velocity and the number of saccades in the dual-task balance conditions including a high cognitive load (cognitive condition), a low cognitive load and a gaze-shifting component (visual condition), or both a high cognitive load and a gaze-shifting component (combined condition). <br><br>RESULTS: Concussion-group participants swayed over larger center-of-pressure ellipse areas in the visual (<i>P</i> =.02; effect size = 0.73) and combined (<i>P</i> =.005; effect size = 0.86) conditions but not in the cognitive condition (<i>P</i> =.07; effect size = 0.50). No group differences were identified for anterior-posterior (<i>F</i><sub>1,56</sub> = 2.57, <i>P</i> =.12) or medial-lateral (<i>F</i><sub>1,56</sub> = 0.157, <i>P</i> =.69) velocity. Concussion-group participants also did not perform more saccades than the control-group participants (<i>F</i><sub>1,56</sub> = 2.04, <i>P</i> =.16). <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Performing dual-task balance conditions for which the secondary task involves a gaze-shifting component or both a gaze-shifting component and a high cognitive load resulted in greater sway amplitude in adolescents with concussion. However, these larger amounts of postural sway were not associated with increased saccadic eye movements.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1062-6050",
doi="10.4085/1062-6050-548-18",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.4085/1062-6050-548-18"
}