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Uncoupling of flow‐pressure relationships following sport concussion in elite athletes (1068.14)
Author(s) -
Bishop Scott,
Burnett Tanis,
Smirl Jonathan,
Ainslie Philip,
Donkelaar Paul,
Neary Patrick
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.28.1_supplement.1068.14
Subject(s) - concussion , athletes , medicine , blood pressure , elite athletes , cerebral blood flow , physical therapy , psychology , physical medicine and rehabilitation , cardiology , poison control , injury prevention , medical emergency
Although sports concussion has the potential to impair the brains ability to protect against changes in blood pressure (BP), this has not been examined in in elite adolescent hockey players. We hypothesised that dynamic cerebral pressure‐flow relationships would be altered following a sports‐related concussion. Methods and Procedure: Using a within‐subject design, 49 elite adolescent hockey players (age = 17.4 ± 1.4 years) were tested. Middle cerebral artery velocity, beat‐to‐beat blood pressure and end‐tidal CO2 were measured. Testing sessions involved resting and driven (squat‐stand maneuvers at very low (VLF, 0.05Hz) frequencies) measures to maximize BP variability and improve assessment of the pressure‐flow relationship using transfer function analysis (TFA). Players recovering from a concussion (n=4) repeated the protocol at day 3 ± 2, day 8 ± 2, and day 16 ± 5. Results and Discussion: Preliminary VLF findings for baseline vs. post‐injury indicate that phase parameters (baseline = 1.01 ± .07 radians, day3 = 0.46 ± .1 radians; p <0.05) decreased during the first 3 ± 2 days post injury. By the third measurement, no significant differences were found, however phase parameters were still not completely returned to baseline. This initial change suggests that a concussion causes a reduction in the buffering capacity of the cerebral pressure‐flow response in elite adolescent hockey players.