Key result
Baseline mean reaction times (0.67 vs 0.66 s, p=0.432) and impulse control scores (5.67 vs 6.07, p=0.611) did not significantly differ between youth athletes with and without an ACL injury.
Why the study?
While poor baseline reaction time on the ImPACT test has been associated with ACL injury risk in adults, whether reaction time and impulse control differ between ACL injured and uninjured pediatric athletes was unknown.
Do reaction time and impulse control ImPACT test domains differ between ACL injured and uninjured pediatric athletes?
Case-Control (n=140)
Do reaction time and impulse control ImPACT test domains differ between ACL injured and uninjured pediatric athletes?
Unlike in adult athletes, baseline reaction time and impulse control do not appear to be associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk in adolescent athletes.
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Baseline ImPACT domains should not guide ACL risk screening in adolescents; leaves open prospective validation in larger pediatric cohorts.
Poor baseline reaction time, as measured via the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Test (ImPACT), has been associated with anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk in adult athletes. Our study sought to determine whether the reaction time and impulse control ImPACT test domains differed between ACL injured and uninjured pediatric athletes. A total of 140 high-school aged athletes comprising 70 athletes who went on to sustain an ACL injury between 2012 and 2018 and 70 age- and sex-matched uninjured controls were included in the study. Mean reaction times were similar for the injured (0.67 s) and uninjured (0.66 s) athletes (p = 0.432), and the impulse control scores were also similar for those with (5.67) and without (6.07) an ACL injury (p = 0.611). Therefore, neurocognitive risk factors for sustaining an ACL injury in adults cannot necessarily be extrapolated to adolescent athletes. Further research is needed to understand why differences exist between injury risk in youth and adult athletes.
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Gureck et al. (2023) conducted a case-control in Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury (n=140). ACL injury vs. Uninjured controls was evaluated on Mean reaction time (seconds) (p=0.432). Baseline mean reaction times (0.67 vs 0.66 s, p=0.432) and impulse control scores (5.67 vs 6.07, p=0.611) did not significantly differ between youth athletes with and without an ACL injury.
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