Greater assessment needed in disability sport for concussion diagnosis
The ability to detect concussion-related injuries in para-athletes could benefit from the same tools as those used for non-disabled athletes, but adjustments are needed to tailor them for their use, an international research paper has concluded.
The research looked at the ‘SCAT5’ tool, a standard tool for concussion diagnosis in sport, and its viability for use among para-athletes who may not present the same symptoms or be able to be assessed in the same way as non-disabled athletes.
In recent years, greater emphasis has been placed on athlete safety after potential concussion incidents, though research and tools are often weighted towards non-disabled athletes.
A research team took this standard diagnostic tool and assessed its appropriateness for use in para-athletes with a visual impairment, spinal cord injuries or a limb deficiency.
The results showed that SCAT5 could be conducted on athletes with limb deficiencies or spinal cord injuries with some minor modifications but could not be recommended for athletes with visual impairments in its current form. To ensure safety through concussion incidents in para-sport, further work is needed to find a quick and appropriate diagnostic tool that can be adjusted for specific conditions of para-athletes.
Dr Bryce Dyer, an Associate Professor of Sports Technology at Bournemouth University, led the study. He said, “The issue is that most of the policy regarding concussion in sport is directed towards non-disabled athletes. While para-athletes are also assessed for suspected concussions, our current methods require tailoring to their unique needs, and this isn't fully understood how yet, with no simple process to quickly do it.
“Our study was designed to explore how to take the existing policy used on non-disabled athletes to see how it would need to be modified to ensure the safeguards were there for some types of para-athletes. We were pleased to see that there are solutions for some para-athletes utilising current tools, but want to continue to help make sport safe for all and, for this, more work needs to be done.”
The research was undertaken by Bournemouth University, alongside University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust; Norwegian School of Sports Sciences, Oslo; University of Waterloo, Ontario; Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Lund University, Sweden; Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil; Immune-Oncological Centre Cologne; VU University Medical Centre Amsterdam; Loughborough University; and the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.
