Concussion in Contact Sports: Reliable Change Indices of Impairment and Recovery

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Abstract
This paper reports a follow-up study to an article on the sensitivity of three tests of speed of information processing to impairment after concussion (Hinton-Bayre, Geffen, & McFarland, 1997). Group analyses showed that practice effects can obscure the effects of concussion on information processing, thereby making the assessment of functional impairment and recovery after injury unreliable. A Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used to assess individual variations following concussion. It was found that 16 of the 20 concussed professional rugby league players were impaired 1–3 days following injury. It was also demonstrated that 7 players still displayed cognitive deficits at 1–2 weeks, before returning to preseason levels at 3–5 weeks. The RCI permits comparisons between different tests, players, and repeated assessments, thereby providing a quantitative basis for decisions regarding return to play.

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