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First published on April 3, 2007, doi:10.1177/0363546507300261
This version was published on August 1, 2007
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The American Journal of Sports Medicine 35:1284-1288 (2007)
© 2007 American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine

Comparison of Preseason, Midseason, and Postseason Neurocognitive Scores in Uninjured Collegiate Football Players

Jennifer R. Miller, MD*, Gregory J. Adamson, MD{ddagger},{dagger}, Marilyn M. Pink, PhD, PT{ddagger} and John C. Sweet, MA, ATC§

From * Idaho Sports Medicine Institute, Boise, Idaho, {ddagger} Congress Medical Foundation, Pasadena, California, and § Occidental College, Los Angeles, California

{dagger} Address correspondence to Gregory J. Adamson, MD, Congress Medical Associates, 39 Congress Street, Pasadena, CA 91105 (e-mail: susan{at}congressmedical.com).

Background: College football players sustain an average of 3 subconcussive blows to the head per game. Concussions correlate with decreases in standardized neurocognitive test scores. It is not known whether repetitive, subconcussive microtrauma associated with participation in a full season of collision sport affects neurocognitive test scores.

Hypothesis: No difference exists between preseason, midseason, and postseason Standardized Assessment of Concussion (SAC) and Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) scores when collegiate football players sustain subconcussive microtrauma from forceful, repetitive contact activity.

Study Design: Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

Methods: Fifty-eight members of a Division III collegiate football team who had no known concussion during the season voluntarily completed the SAC and ImPACT instruments preseason, midseason, and postseason. A repeated measures analysis of variance was used to compare the scores at the 3 time intervals (P < .05).

Results: No statistically significant decreases were found in overall SAC or ImPACT scores or in any of the domains or composites of the tests (P < .05) when preseason, midseason, and postseason scores were evaluated.

Conclusions: ImPACT and SAC neurocognitive test scores are not significantly altered by a season of repetitive contact in collegiate football athletes who have not sustained a concussion.

Clinical Relevance: A diminution in SAC or ImPACT scores in concert with clinical symptoms and findings should be interpreted as evidence of a postconcussive event.

Key Words: concussion • athletic injury • neurocognitive tests • head injury






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