Concussion and Concurrent Cognitive and Sport-specific Task Performance in Youth Ice Hockey Players: A Single-case Pilot Study

Abstract

Background: Concussion is common in the sport of ice hockey and can cause deficits in cognitive function. In most situations, ice hockey participation requires the performance of more than one skill at a time. It has been reported that following concussion in athletes, performance deficits arise when locomotor and cognitive tasks are performed concurrently that may have otherwise gone unnoticed if assessed in isolation of one another. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the effect of concussion on cognition during concurrent ice hockey specific tasks in youth ice hockey players. Methods: This single case pilot study compared the performance of 4 male youth ice hockey players who had experienced a concussion in the previous ice hockey season (mean age=11.7 ± 0.3 years; mean time since injury=92.5 ± 49.1 days) to a group of 10 non-injured controls (mean age=11.8 ± 0.8 years). Participants completed a randomized combination of three ice hockey specific tasks while concurrently completing a visual interference task (modified Stroop task). Results: Participants who experienced a concussion within the previous ice hockey season and were ≤ 58 days post-injury demonstrated significantly poorer cognitive performance (increased cognitive dual task cost) across all conditions when completing the visual interference task concurrently with ice hockey specific skills (p ≤ 0.05). Conclusion: This study acts as an initial step towards the development of a sport-specific assessment of functional performance following concussion in youth ice hockey players to help inform safer return to play.