“Are youth athletes with post-concussive dizziness or postural instability more likely to experience protracted recovery?”
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Giana Giorello
CoPIs:
Dylan Cumella, Meaghan Dowdell
College:
The College of Health Professions and Human Services
Major:
Physical Therapy
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
enna Tucker, Jennifer Gentile
Abstract:
Purpose/Hypothesis: To assess if symptoms of dizziness and/or postural instability may predict protracted recovery in youth athletes post-concussion.
Subjects: Youth athletes with a diagnosed concussion.
Methods: A literature search was conducted using ScienceDirect, EBSCOhost, and PubMed. Established key words included “Concussion”, “Prolonged Recovery”, “Dizziness”, “Vestibular”, “Balance”, and “Postural Instability”. Inclusion criteria: published between 2018-2023; participants 21 years old.
Results: The literature search yielded 10 articles initially; 5 articles with varying study designs met inclusion criteria and used both subjective and objective measurements for tracking symptom progression. All 5 studies reported that acute dizziness following a concussion was associated with prolonged symptom duration. Three of these studies reported individuals with postural instability with/without dizziness following concussion have protracted recovery time. In addition, those who reported initial dizziness also demonstrated decreased performance on postural stability assessments.
Conclusion:
The current evidence suggests that early assessment of youth athletes within 10 to 14 days post-concussion reveals acute onset of dizziness as well as postural instability are linked to prolonged symptom duration. This aligns with recent literature indicating symptoms of dizziness and postural instability as valuable prognostic factors for all concussed individuals.
Clinical Relevance:
Identifying risk factors associated with protracted recovery, such as dizziness and/or postural instability, may help develop preventative and post-concussion treatment strategies that facilitate quicker recovery and improve outcomes.