Concussion History and Time Since Concussion Do not Influence Static and Dynamic Balance in Collegiate Athletes

Context: Dynamic balance deficits exist following a concussion, sometimes years after injury. However, clinicians lack practical tools for assessing dynamic balance. Objectives: To determine if there are significant differences in static and dynamic balance performance between individuals with and without a history of concussion. Design: Cross sectional. Setting: Clinical research laboratory. Patients or Other Participants: 45 collegiate student-athletes with a history of concussion (23 males, 22 females; age = 20.0 +/- 1.4 y; height = 175.8 +/- 11.6 cm; mass = 76.4 +/- 19.2 kg) and 45 matched controls with no history of concussion (23 males, 22 females; age = 20.0 +/- 1.3 y; height = 178.8 +/- 13.2 cm; mass = 75.7 +/- 18.2 kg). Interventions: Participants completed a static (Balance Error Scoring System) and dynamic (Y Balance Test-Lower Quarter) balance assessment. Main Outcome Measures: A composite score was calculated from the mean normalized Y Balance Test-Lower Quarter reach distances. Firm, foam, and overall errors were counted during the Balance Error Scoring System by a single reliable rater. One-way ANOVAs were used to compare balance performance between groups. Pearson's correlations were performed to determine the relationship between the time since the most recent concussion and balance performance. A Bonferonni adjusted a priori alpha < 0.025 was used for all analyses. Results: Static and dynamic balance performance did not significantly differ between groups. No significant correlation was found between the time since the most recent concussion and balance performance. Conclusions: Collegiate athletes with a history of concussion do not present with static or dynamic balance deficits when measured using clinical assessments. More research is needed to determine whether the Y Balance Test-Lower Quarter is sensitive to acute balance deficits following concussion.