Studies using balance tests on the day of injury
| Reference | Study design | Population | Findings | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First author | Year | Study type | Measures | Sport | Age/level | M/F | Concussed N | Controls N | |
| Prichep43 | 2012 | PHC | BESS | FB | HS, C | M | 65 | 0 | Divided into mild and moderate concussion groups based on the severity of symptoms at the time of injury. No significant group differences were observed on BESS |
| Barr42 | 2012 | PHC | BESS | FB | HS, C | M | 59 | 31 | At the time of injury, there were no differences in BESS scores between the concussed and control groups (17.6, SD 11.0 vs 17.7, SD 6.6) |
| Echlin57 | 2010 | PHC | Modified BESS from SCAT2 | IH | HS, C | M | 15 | 0 | Only 5 individuals had modified BESS data available at baseline and the time of injury assessment (derived from figure 3 in paper). 3/5 concussed athletes demonstrated an increased number of errors at the time of injury compared to baseline |
| Register-Mihalik47 | 2007 | CCS | BESS | FB, SCR, LX, OT | HS, C | 145 (study arms 1 & 3) | No significant effects of baseline or post-traumatic headache reporting and performance on BESS postinjury | ||
| Broglio29 | 2007 | PHC | SOT | FB, SCR, OT | C | M 62, F 13 | 94 | 0 | SOT data available on 63/75 individuals (abnormal defined as 1 SD below baseline). 39/63 were identified as having impaired postural control on at least 1 SOT variable within 24 h of sustaining a concussion 24/63 showed no impairment compared with baseline |
| Peterson31 | 2003 | PHC | SOT | FB, SCR, OT | C | M 18, F 6 | 24 | 18 | Significant deficits demonstrated on composite balance and vestibular ratio scores for concussed athletes on day 1 postinjury assessment. No significant differences were found on the somatosensory ratio |
| McCrea2 | 2003 | PHC | BESS | FB | C | M | 79 | 56 | Significant deficits were observed on BESS scores immediately after concussion (5.8, 95% CI –0.7 to 12.3), postgame or practice (5.7, 95% CI 1.3 to 10.1) and day 1 postinjury (2.7, 95% CI –0.1 to 5.6) |
| Guskiewicz 35 | 2001 | PHC | SOT and BESS | Not stated | C | M 18, F 11 | 36 | 36 | Significant differences were observed for all balance measures (composite score, visual ratio and vestibular ratio on SOT and BESS) on day 1 assessment in the concussed group, whether compared with baseline or control group data |
| Riemann34 | 2000 | PHC | SOT and Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) | Not stated | C | M 15, F 1 | 16 | 16 | Significant differences were observed between concussed athletes and controls on testing with both the computerised balance system (lower SOT composite score) and clinical tests of balance (higher BESS error rate) on day 1 postinjury |
| Guskiewicz33 | 1997 | PHC | Sensory Organizational Test (SOT) | Not stated | C | M 8, F 3 | 11 | 11 | Composite score, visual ratio and vestibular ratio deficits observed in concussed athletes compared to controls at day 1 assessment |
| Guskiewicz32 | 1996 | PHC | Chattecx Balance System | FB, OT | HS, C | M 18, F 1 | 19 | 19 | Significant increase in sway index on day 1 postinjury in the concussed group (on all 3 platforms—normal, foam and moving). No significant changes were observed in the control group over time |
Author, the last name of the first author; No., reference number; year, the year of publication.
Study type is coded as follows (per the Oxford Centre for Evidence based Medicine): CCS, case control studies (retrospective); CR, case reports; CrS, cross-sectional studies; CS, clinical series (some kind of control, including historical controls); PHC, prospective and historical cohort studies; RCT, randomised clinical trials.
Measures refer to specific tests (eg, SCAT2, BESS, etc).
Sports coded as follows: BX, boxing; FB, football; FH, field hockey; IH, ice hockey; LX, lacrosse; OT, other; RB, rugby; SCR, soccer; WR, wrestling.
Age/level is coded as follows: C, college; HS, high school; O, other; P, professional; Y, youth.
F/M indicates gender: F, female and M, male; list both if it applies.