Objective Spontaneous displays of nonverbal hand movement behavior during interaction are indicative of psychopathology and relatively simple to record and analyze. Increased continuous (/irregular) body-focused hand movement activity in particular indicates psychopathologies that overlap in symptomatology with those of sport related concussions (SRC). We therefore hypothesized that the duration of irregular, on body, and act on each other hand movements is increased in athletes with SRC who suffer from post-concussion symptoms. We therefore hypothesized that the duration of irregular, on body, and act on each other hand movements is increased in athletes with SRC who suffer from post-concussion symptoms.

Design Retrospective cross-sectional design.

Setting Clinical interview/anamnesis.

Participants Three matched groups of 40 athletes were investigated: 14 symptomatic athletes with a concussion, 14 asymptomatic athletes with a concussion, and 12 non-concussed athletes.

Interventions (or Assessment of Risk Factors) Four certified raters analyzed with the NEUROGES-Elan analysis system all nonverbal hand movements that were displayed during a videotaped standardized anamnesis about concussion history, incidence, course of action, and post-concussion symptoms.

Outcome Measures Nonverbal hand movement durations.

Main Results Irregular Structure units of symptomatic athletes are significantly longer when compared to asymptomatic athletes. Hand movement durations of irregular, on body, and act on each other correlate with post-concussion symptoms. Whereas the duration of irregular units significantly predicts the PCS score, working memory performances show only marginal effects.

Conclusions Increased durations of irregular hand movement units indicate post-concussion symptoms in athletes with SRC. Because the recording of spontaneous displays of nonverbal hand movement behavior is relatively simple and cost-efficient, we suggest using the neuropsychological analysis of hand movement behavior as a future diagnostic parameter of concussion management protocols.