Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA.
Department of Physical Therapy, Movement and Rehabilitation Sciences, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
Am J Sports Med. 2022 Jul;50(9):2526-2533. doi: 10.1177/03635465221104685. Epub 2022 Jun 23.
Investigations of estimated age of first exposure to repetitive head impacts from collision and contact sports have shown no associations with neurocognitive or neurobehavioral function at the collegiate level, but the effect of career duration may be a more comprehensive factor. Understanding whether longer career duration influences gait performance would provide insights into potential neurological impairment.
To examine the relationship between career duration of collision sports and single/dual-task gait performance in collegiate student-athletes.
Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3.
We recruited 168 male student-athletes from collision sports: football, lacrosse, ice hockey, and wrestling (mean ± SD age, 19.2 ± 1.3 years; height, 184.5 ± 7.2 cm; mass, 94.3 ± 15.9 kg; estimated age of first exposure, 8.6 ± 3.1 years; career duration, 10.6 ± 3.0 years). All participants completed a baseline single- and dual-task gait assessment before the start of their athletic season. Inertial measurement units were used to measure gait speed and stride length. During the dual task, participants were asked to perform working memory cognitive tasks while walking. The dependent variables were single/dual-task gait speed and stride length, cognitive accuracy, and dual-task cost. The relationship between career duration, analyzed as a continuous variable, and the dependent variables was analyzed using a linear regression.
There were no significant associations between career duration and single-task gait speed (1.16 0.16 m/s; β = -0.004; = .35; 95% CI = -0.012 to 0.004; η = 0.005) or dual-task gait speed (1.02 0.17 m/s; β = -0.003; = .57; 95% CI = -0.011 to 0.006; η = 0.002). There were also no significant associations between career duration and single/dual-task stride length, cognitive accuracy, or dual-task cost.
Career duration among collegiate collision sport athletes was not associated with single- or dual-task gait performance, suggesting that a greater exposure to repetitive head impacts is not detrimental to dynamic postural control at the college level. However, the effects of diminished gait performance over the lifetime remain to be elucidated.
对重复性头部撞击的首次接触年龄的研究表明，来自碰撞和接触性运动的估计年龄与大学生的神经认知或神经行为功能没有关联，但职业持续时间的影响可能是一个更全面的因素。了解职业持续时间是否会影响步态表现，将为潜在的神经损伤提供深入的见解。
检查碰撞运动职业持续时间与大学生运动员单任务/双任务步态表现之间的关系。
横断面研究；证据水平，3 级。
我们招募了来自碰撞运动的 168 名男性运动员：足球、曲棍球、冰球和摔跤（平均±标准差年龄，19.2±1.3 岁；身高，184.5±7.2cm；体重，94.3±15.9kg；首次接触年龄估计值，8.6±3.1 岁；职业持续时间，10.6±3.0 年）。所有参与者在运动赛季开始前都完成了基线单任务和双任务步态评估。使用惯性测量单元测量步态速度和步长。在双任务中，要求参与者在行走时执行工作记忆认知任务。因变量为单任务/双任务步态速度和步长、认知准确性和双任务成本。使用线性回归分析职业持续时间（作为连续变量）与因变量之间的关系。
职业持续时间与单任务步态速度（1.16±0.16m/s；β=-0.004； =.35；95%CI=-0.012 至 0.004；η=0.005）或双任务步态速度（1.02±0.17m/s；β=-0.003； =.57；95%CI=-0.011 至 0.006；η=0.002）均无显著关联。职业持续时间与单/双任务步长、认知准确性或双任务成本也无显著关联。
在大学生碰撞运动运动员中，职业持续时间与单任务或双任务步态表现无关，这表明接触重复性头部冲击次数的增加不会对大学生的动态姿势控制造成损害。然而，终生步态表现下降的影响仍有待阐明。
