Objective Women’s soccer is a high-risk sport for concussion. The strongest predictor for future concussion risk is a prior history of concussion. Neck strength may be protective against concussion. Do female soccer players with a prior history of concussion demonstrate decreased neck strength?

Design Observational cohort.

Setting University soccer team.

Participants 28 players.

Assessment of Risk Factors Independent = history of concussion, dependent = dynamic neck strength.

Outcome Measures Dynamic neck strength measured as peak Rate of Force Development (RFD) using the TopSpin360. Self-declared concussion history was recorded. Independent samples t-tests were used to compare differences between groups.

Main Results 10 players declared a history of concussion (HxCon), 18 self-declared without (NoHxCon). There was a significant difference in dynamic neck strength between the groups (HxCon = 3.8 lbf*s^-1, 95%CI 2.5–5.2, NoHxCon = 7.1 lbf*s^-1, 95%CI 5.2–9.1, p<.05). Area under the curve demonstrated a sensitivity of 72% and specificity of 80% at an RFD of 4.5 lbf*s^-1 to distinguish players with a history of concussion from those without.

Conclusions In this small study, dynamic neck strength was able to differentiate players with a history of concussion, and hence at a known higher risk of future concussion, from those with no history of concussion and relatively lower risk. Future studies should explore using dynamic neck strength as a potential screening tool to assess athletes’ risk of concussion.