Abstract
Background: Sensor devices have enabled estimations of head impact kinematics across contact sports. Objectives: To quantitatively report the magnitude (linear and rotational acceleration) and frequency of game-related head impacts recorded in male contact sports athletes. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in June 2017. Inclusion criteria were English-language in vivo studies published after 1990 with a study population of male athletes aged ≥ 16 years, in any sport, where athletes were instrumented with an accelerometer device for measuring head impacts. Study populations were not limited to players with a clinical diagnosis of concussion. Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria with 12 conducted on American Football athletes. Six of these studies were included for meta-analysis. At a threshold of 10g, amateur rugby players sustained the most impacts per player per game (mean = 77, SD = 42), followed by amateur Australian Football (mean = 29, SD = 37) and collegiate lacrosse athletes (mean = 11.5, SD = 3.6). At thresholds of greater than 14.4g, high school American Football athletes sustained between 19 (SD = 19.1) and 24.4 (SD = 22.4) impacts per player per game. Statistically significant heterogeneity was observed among the included studies, and meta-analysis of impact magnitude was limited. Conclusions: The frequency of “head acceleration events” was quantified and demonstrated substantial variation in methodology and reporting of results. Future research with standardised reporting of head impacts and inclusion of non-helmeted sports is warranted to enable more robust comparisons across sports. Prospero ID: CRD42017070065.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1575-1583 |
| Number of pages | 9 |
| Journal | Sports Medicine |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 10 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Oct 2019 |
Cite this
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Frequency and Magnitude of Game-Related Head Impacts in Male Contact Sports Athletes : A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. / Nguyen, Jack V.K.; Brennan, James H.; Mitra, Biswadev; Willmott, Catherine.
In: Sports Medicine, Vol. 49, No. 10, 10.2019, p. 1575-1583.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review Article › Research › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Frequency and Magnitude of Game-Related Head Impacts in Male Contact Sports Athletes
T2 - A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
AU - Nguyen, Jack V.K.
AU - Brennan, James H.
AU - Mitra, Biswadev
AU - Willmott, Catherine
PY - 2019/10
Y1 - 2019/10
N2 - Background: Sensor devices have enabled estimations of head impact kinematics across contact sports. Objectives: To quantitatively report the magnitude (linear and rotational acceleration) and frequency of game-related head impacts recorded in male contact sports athletes. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in June 2017. Inclusion criteria were English-language in vivo studies published after 1990 with a study population of male athletes aged ≥ 16 years, in any sport, where athletes were instrumented with an accelerometer device for measuring head impacts. Study populations were not limited to players with a clinical diagnosis of concussion. Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria with 12 conducted on American Football athletes. Six of these studies were included for meta-analysis. At a threshold of 10g, amateur rugby players sustained the most impacts per player per game (mean = 77, SD = 42), followed by amateur Australian Football (mean = 29, SD = 37) and collegiate lacrosse athletes (mean = 11.5, SD = 3.6). At thresholds of greater than 14.4g, high school American Football athletes sustained between 19 (SD = 19.1) and 24.4 (SD = 22.4) impacts per player per game. Statistically significant heterogeneity was observed among the included studies, and meta-analysis of impact magnitude was limited. Conclusions: The frequency of “head acceleration events” was quantified and demonstrated substantial variation in methodology and reporting of results. Future research with standardised reporting of head impacts and inclusion of non-helmeted sports is warranted to enable more robust comparisons across sports. Prospero ID: CRD42017070065.
AB - Background: Sensor devices have enabled estimations of head impact kinematics across contact sports. Objectives: To quantitatively report the magnitude (linear and rotational acceleration) and frequency of game-related head impacts recorded in male contact sports athletes. Methods: A systematic review was conducted in June 2017. Inclusion criteria were English-language in vivo studies published after 1990 with a study population of male athletes aged ≥ 16 years, in any sport, where athletes were instrumented with an accelerometer device for measuring head impacts. Study populations were not limited to players with a clinical diagnosis of concussion. Results: Twenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria with 12 conducted on American Football athletes. Six of these studies were included for meta-analysis. At a threshold of 10g, amateur rugby players sustained the most impacts per player per game (mean = 77, SD = 42), followed by amateur Australian Football (mean = 29, SD = 37) and collegiate lacrosse athletes (mean = 11.5, SD = 3.6). At thresholds of greater than 14.4g, high school American Football athletes sustained between 19 (SD = 19.1) and 24.4 (SD = 22.4) impacts per player per game. Statistically significant heterogeneity was observed among the included studies, and meta-analysis of impact magnitude was limited. Conclusions: The frequency of “head acceleration events” was quantified and demonstrated substantial variation in methodology and reporting of results. Future research with standardised reporting of head impacts and inclusion of non-helmeted sports is warranted to enable more robust comparisons across sports. Prospero ID: CRD42017070065.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85067303800&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s40279-019-01135-4
DO - 10.1007/s40279-019-01135-4
M3 - Review Article
VL - 49
SP - 1575
EP - 1583
JO - Sports Medicine
JF - Sports Medicine
SN - 0112-1642
IS - 10
ER -