Effects of Playing Positions on Memory and Auditory Comprehension in High School Football Players with a Mild Concussion

Abstract

Purpose This study examined whether different playing positions of high school football players are associated with impaired memory and auditory comprehension at a sentence level after a concussion. The specific research questions are 1) whether there are significant differences in memory on the Immediate Postconcussion Assessment Cognitive Test (ImPACT) between a speed-positions group and a non-speed positions group, and 2) whether there are significant differences in auditory comprehension on Subtest VIII of the Computerized-Revised Token Test (CRTT) between the speed-positions group and the non-speed positions group. Methods 36 acutely concussed high school football players (Age: M=14.61±1.96, Education: M=8.36±1.92) were administered the ImPACT and Subtest VIII of the CRTT which requires auditory comprehension ability at a sentence level. A group of 36 players was selected from an extant database. The group was divided into two groups based on their reported playing positions: speed-position (N=18) and non-speed-position (N=18), and matched by age and education. The speed-positions were; quarterback, running back, wide receiver, ends, defensive back, safety, and linebacker. The non-speed position group was composed of defensive and offensive linemen. IBM SPSS Statistics 24 was used to compare the two speed groups across the ImPACT and CRTT variables. Results The results revealed that at post-concussion assessment high school athletes who play non-speed positions perform significantly poorer than a matched group of high school athletes who play speed positions on verbal memory and auditory comprehension abilities. Keywords: Sports-related concussion (SRC); Playing position; Memory; Language; Football players