Association Between Concussion and Lower Extremity Injuries in Collegiate Athletes

Association Between Concussion and Lower Extremity Injuries in Collegiate Athletes

http://sph.sagepub.com/content/early/2016/09/01/1941738116666509.abstract

Concussions have been associated with elevated musculoskeletal injury risk; however, the influence of unreported and unrecognized concussions has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between concussion and lower extremity musculoskeletal injury rates across a diverse array of sports among collegiate student-athletes at the conclusion of their athletic career. The hypothesis was that there will be a positive association between athletes who reported a history of concussions and higher rates of lower extremity injuries. There were significant associations between concussion and lateral ankle sprain (P = 0.012), knee injury (P = 0.002), and lower extremity muscle strain (P = 0.031). There were also significant associations between reported concussions and knee injury (P = 0.003), unreported concussions and knee injury (P = 0.002), and unrecognized concussions and lateral ankle sprain (P = 0.001) and lower extremity muscle strains (P = 0.006), with odds ratios ranging from 1.6 to 2.9. Therefore the authors concluded that there was a positive association between concussion history and lower extremity injuries (odds ratios, 1.6-2.9 elevated risk) among student-athletes at the conclusion of their intercollegiate athletic careers.

OVERALL MESSAGE: Athletes who reported sustaining a concussion were 1.6 to 2.9 times more likely to have also sustained a lower extremity musculoskeletal injury at the end of their intercollegiate athletic careers.  Clinicians should be aware of these elevated risks when making return-to-participation decisions and should incorporate injury prevention protocols.