Professional Football Career Length And Position: Potential Risk Factors For Concussive And Subconcussive Exposure Outcomes
Open Access
- Author:
- Rosenthal, Scott L
- Graduate Program:
- Kinesiology
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- March 31, 2014
- Committee Members:
- Semyon Slobounov, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
William Ray, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Karl Maxim Newell, Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- concussion
subconcussion
sub-concussion
concussive
mtbi
NFL
football
deficit
impairment
position
college
brain injury - Abstract:
- Football is a high frequency and magnitude contact sport. Contact sports carry a higher rate of impacts to the head which are inherently associated with an increased risk of developing concussive injuries. Growing evidence indicates that subconcussive and concussive injuries can result in physiological changes which may lead to the development of cognitive, behavioral, and physical deficits. There is also evidence linking subconcussive and concussive injuries to neurodegenerative diseases like Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis. Over the course of an athlete's career, concussive and subconcussive damage may accumulate and can result in permanent and devastating long-term dysfunction. Certain positions experience different types and frequencies of impacts, therefore, concussive and subconcussive-induced deficits may vary by position. This study compared retired NFL players(n=24), similarly aged non-contact controls(n=15) and position matched collegiate players(n=24) using the VR HeadRehab 3 system in order to identify any potential long-term deficits. Players were tested on measures of balance, reaction time and spatial memory. Further analysis sought to identify any relationships or risk factors for the onset of these deficits. NFL players performed significantly worse than both control groups on all VR measures. This poorer performance was associated with player career length and position. Career length was significantly associated with longer reaction time. Players in positions that were more likely to receive concussive-type(less frequent but higher magnitude) impacts had poorer spatial memory, while players in positions that experience greater subconcussive(more frequent but lower magnitude) impacts were more likely to have poorer balance. Limited evidence suggests poorer VR performance at the collegiate level.