In People with Subacute Mild Traumatic Brain Injury, earlier Physical Therapy Improved Symptoms at a Faster Rate than Later Physical Therapy: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Importance: There is unclear evidence on when to initiate physical therapy after mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in non-athlete, adult population.

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate physical therapy timing after mTBI through changes in patient-reported and clinically-assessed tools and objective and mechanism measurements of sensorimotor balance control.

Design: This study was an investigator-blinded randomized control trial (NCT03479541).

iVOMS: Instrumented Vestibular / Ocular motor screen in healthy controls and mild traumatic brain injury.

Objective Vestibular/ocular deficits occur with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). The vestibular/ocular motor screening (VOMS) tool is used to assess individuals post-mTBI, which primarily relies upon subjective self-reported symptoms. Instrumenting the VOMS (iVOMS) with technology may allow for more objective assessment post-mTBI, which reflects actual task performance.

Assessing the Effects of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury on Vestibular Home Exercise Performance with Wearable Sensors.

After a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), dizziness and balance problems are frequently reported, affecting individuals' daily lives and functioning. Vestibular rehabilitation is a standard treatment approach for addressing these issues, but its efficacy in this population remains inconclusive. A potential reason for suboptimal outcomes is the lack of objective monitoring of exercise performance, which is crucial for therapeutic success.

Exercise Intolerance After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Occurs in All Subtypes in the Adult Population.

Thematically grouped symptom clusters are present during the acute timeline of post-mild traumatic brain injuries (mTBI), representing clinical profiles called subtypes. Exercise intolerance has not been evaluated within the subtype classifications and, because guidelines support early submaximal aerobic exercise, further knowledge is required in regard to the exercise capabilities among the concussion subtypes. This cross-sectional study ( = 78) aimed to characterize the presence of exercise intolerance within the clinical subtypes and to explore performance on the Buffalo Concussion Treadmill Test (BCTT) in the adult subacute (2-12 weeks post-injury) mTBI population.

Assessment of balance in people with mild traumatic brain injury using a balance systems model approach.

Purpose: Measuring persistent imbalance after mTBI is challenging and may include subjective symptom-reporting as well as clinical scales. Clinical assessments for quantifying balance following mTBI have focused on sensory orientation. It is theorized that balance control goes beyond sensory orientation and also includes subdomains of anticipatory postural adjustments, reactive postural control, and dynamic gait.

Central sensorimotor integration assessment reveals deficits in standing balance control in people with chronic mild traumatic brain injury.

Imbalance is common following mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) and can persist months after the initial injury. To determine if mTBI subjects with chronic imbalance differed from healthy age- and sex-matched controls (HCs) we used both the Central SensoriMotor Integration (CSMI) test, which evaluates sensory integration, time delay, and motor activation properties and the standard Sensory Organization Test (SOT). Four CSMI conditions evoked center-of-mass sway in response to: surface tilts with eyes closed (SS/EC), surface tilts with eyes open viewing a fixed visual surround (SS/EO), visual surround tilts with eyes open standing on a fixed surface (VS/EO), and combined surface and visual tilts with eyes open (SS+VS/EO).

The effects of augmenting traditional rehabilitation with audio biofeedback in people with persistent imbalance following mild traumatic brain injury.

Complaints of non-resolving imbalance are common in individuals with chronic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI). Vestibular rehabilitation therapy may be beneficial for this population. Additionally, wearable sensors can enable biofeedback, specifically audio biofeedback (ABF), and aid in retraining balance control mechanisms in people with balance impairments.

Implementation and Adoption of Telerehabilitation for Treating Mild Traumatic Brain Injury.

Background And Purpose: Multimodal physical therapy for mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) has been shown to improve recovery. Due to the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a clinical trial assessing the timing of multimodal intervention was adapted for telerehabilitation. This pilot study explored feasibility and adoption of an in-person rehabilitation program for subacute mTBI delivered through telerehabilitation.

Symptoms and Central Sensory Integration in People With Chronic mTBI: Clinical Implications.

Introduction: Balance deficits in people with chronic mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI; ≥3 months post-mTBI), thought to relate to central sensory integration deficits, are subtle and often difficult to detect. The purpose of this study was to determine the sensitivity of the instrumented modified clinical test of sensory integration for balance (mCTSIB) in identifying such balance deficits in people with symptomatic, chronic mTBI and to establish the associations between balance and mTBI symptom scores in the chronic mTBI group.

Methods: The Institutional Review Board approved these study methods.

Free-living gait does not differentiate chronic mTBI patients compared to healthy controls.

Background: Physical function remains a crucial component of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) assessment and recovery. Traditional approaches to assess mTBI lack sensitivity to detect subtle deficits post-injury, which can impact a patient's quality of life, daily function and can lead to chronic issues. Inertial measurement units (IMU) provide an opportunity for objective assessment of physical function and can be used in any environment.

Career Head Impact Exposure Profile of Canadian University Football Players.

This study quantified head impact exposures for Canadian university football players over their varsity career. Participants included 63 players from one team that participated in a minimum of 3 seasons between 2013 and 2018. A total of 127,192 head impacts were recorded from 258 practices and 65 games.

Exploring persistent complaints of imbalance after mTBI: Oculomotor, peripheral vestibular and central sensory integration function.

Background: Little is known on the peripheral and central sensory contributions to persistent dizziness and imbalance following mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI).

Objective: To identify peripheral vestibular, central integrative, and oculomotor causes for chronic symptoms following mTBI.

Methods: Individuals with chronic mTBI symptoms and healthy controls (HC) completed a battery of oculomotor, peripheral vestibular and instrumented posturography evaluations and rated subjective symptoms on validated questionnaires.

Head Impact Telemetry System's Video-based Impact Detection and Location Accuracy.

Purpose: This study aimed to quantify the Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System's impact detection and location measurement accuracy using an impact biomechanics data set paired with video of high school football special teams plays.

Methods: The head impact biomechanics data set and video were collected from 22 high school football players, wearing HIT System instrumented helmets, competing in 218 special teams plays over a single high school football season. We used two separate video analysis approaches.

Single-Legged Hop and Single-Legged Squat Balance Performance in Recreational Athletes With a History of Concussion.

Context: Researchers have suggested that balance deficiencies may linger during functional activities after concussion recovery.

Objective: To determine whether participants with a history of concussion demonstrated dynamic balance deficits as compared with control participants during single-legged hops and single-legged squats.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Influence of Self-reported Fatigue and Sex on Baseline Concussion Assessment Scores.

Background: Baseline concussion assessments are advocated to provide an objective preinjury point of comparison for determining the extent of postconcussion neurological deficits and to assist with return-to-activity decision making. Many factors, including testing environment, proctor availability, and testing group size, can influence test accuracy and validity; however, it is unknown how self-reported fatigue affects test scores.

Purpose: To investigate the influence of self-reported fatigue and patient sex on baseline concussion assessment scores.

Can Functional Movement Assessment Predict Football Head Impact Biomechanics?

Purpose: The purposes of this study was to determine functional movement assessments' ability to predict head impact biomechanics in college football players and to determine whether head impact biomechanics could explain preseason to postseason changes in functional movement performance.

Methods: Participants (N = 44; mass, 109.0 ± 20.

Head Impact Locations in U.S. High School Boys' and Girls' Soccer Concussions, 2012/13-2015/16.

This study describes concussions and concussion-related outcomes sustained by high school soccer players by head impact location, sex, and injury mechanism. Data were obtained for the 2012/13-2015/16 school years from the National High School Sports-Related Injury Surveillance System, High School RIO™. This Internet-based sports injury surveillance system captures data reported by athletic trainers from an annual average of 162 U.

Concussion Mechanisms and Activities in Youth, High School, and College Football.

Our purpose was to determine concussion mechanism and activity differences among three cohorts of football players: youth, high school, and college. Participants in this prospective cohort study were youth (ages 5-14 years, 118 teams, 310 team-seasons), high school (96 teams, 184 team-seasons), and college (34 teams, 71 team-seasons) football players. Athletic trainers collected athlete-exposure (AE) and concussion data during the 2012-2014 seasons.

Effect of the mandible on mouthguard measurements of head kinematics.

Wearable sensors are becoming increasingly popular for measuring head motions and detecting head impacts. Many sensors are worn on the skin or in headgear and can suffer from motion artifacts introduced by the compliance of soft tissue or decoupling of headgear from the skull. The instrumented mouthguard is designed to couple directly to the upper dentition, which is made of hard enamel and anchored in a bony socket by stiff ligaments.

Laboratory Evaluation of the gForce Tracker™, a Head Impact Kinematic Measuring Device for Use in Football Helmets.

This study sought to compare a new head impact-monitoring device, which is not limited to specific helmet styles, against reference accelerometer measurements. Laboratory controlled impacts were delivered using a linear pneumatic impactor to a Hybrid III headform (HIII) fitted with a football helmet and the impact monitoring device (gForce Tracker-GFT) affixed to the inside of the helmet. Linear regression analyses and absolute mean percent error (MAPE) were used to compare the head impact kinematics measured by the GFT to a reference accelerometer located at the HIII's center of mass.

Biomechanical research on bowed string musicians: a scoping study.

Unlabelled: Performing arts biomechanics is concerned with quantifying the musculoskeletal demands of artistic tasks. The growing body of related research has prompted this scoping study, solely focused on quantitative research, to summarize the state of the science, identify knowledge gaps, and identify opportunities for future research.

Objectives: To identify, summarize, and categorize quantitative research on the biomechanics of violin, viola, cello, and double bass players, using scoping study methodology.