Return to Play Following Sports-Related Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: The Role for Neuropsychology
- 1 March 2003
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Applied Neuropsychology
- Vol. 10 (1), 48-55
- https://doi.org/10.1207/s15324826an1001_7
Abstract
Cerebral concussions frequently occur at all levels of athletic competition. The effects from these concussions can be transient or may lead to chronic, debilitating symptoms. A growing literature has established that neuropsychological tests are useful in detecting the subtle neurocognitive changes that occur following concussions. The identification of these deficits and subsequent recovery of function can be important components in making return-to-play (RTP) decisions. This article describes the emergence of neuropsychology in sports medicine, discusses the context in which RTP decisions are made, outlines factors that are important to RTP decisions, and presents a model that views the RTP decision as a dynamic risk-benefit analysis that involves complex interactions among variables. It is argued that neuropsychology has a unique, but not exclusive, role in the decision making process. Implications for future research are discussed.Keywords
This publication has 14 references indexed in Scilit:
- Does Loss of Consciousness Predict Neuropsychological Decrements After Concussion?Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine, 1999
- Relationship Between Concussion and Neuropsychological Performance in College Football PlayersJAMA, 1999
- FORUM Neuropsychology of Sports-Related Head Injury: Dementia Pugilistica to Post Concussion SyndromeThe Clinical Neuropsychologist, 1999
- RETURN TO PLAY GUIDELINES AFTER A HEAD INJURYClinics in Sports Medicine, 1998
- Practice Parameter [RETIRED]Neurology, 1997
- Managing Successive Minor Head InjuriesThe Physician and Sportsmedicine, 1996
- Concussion in sports. Guidelines for the prevention of catastrophic outcomeJAMA, 1991
- Increased vulnerability of the midly traumatized rat brain to cerebral ischemia: the use of controlled secondary ischemia as a research tool to identify common or different mechanisms contributing to mechanical and ischemic brain injuryBrain Research, 1989
- The second impact in catastrophic contact-sports head traumaJAMA, 1984
- Neuropsychological Sequelae of Minor Head InjuryNeurosurgery, 1983