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Evidence-Based Management of Sport-Related Concussion: Completing the Puzzle

  • Sports Medicine Rehabilitation (BJ Krabak, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Concussion-related evidence is evolving at a rapid pace due to the complexity of concussive injury and the increased societal and medical attention around its potential consequences. Recent evidence and consensus suggests a multimodal assessment and management model that encompasses the various domains affected by concussion. The model is inclusive of a clinical evaluation, symptoms assessment, neurocognitive assessment, and balance assessment. However, new evidence also highlights additional diagnostic and prognostic factors that are important to understand in the concussion management process. With these advances, there is also increased consensus and evidence for a more active approach to management of the injury. As such, there are many new advances in the field that are key for clinicians to understand and utilize in clinical practice. This narrative review will provide an overview of recent evidence illustrating the necessity of multimodal concussion assessment and management best practices.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center, Department of Exercise and Sport Science, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2207 Stallings-Evans Sports Medicine Center, Campus Box 8700, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-8700, USA

    Johna K. Register-Mihalik & Kevin M. Guskiewicz

  2. Injury Prevention Research Center, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Johna K. Register-Mihalik & Kevin M. Guskiewicz

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  1. Johna K. Register-Mihalik
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  2. Kevin M. Guskiewicz
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Correspondence to Johna K. Register-Mihalik.

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Conflict of Interest

Johna K. Register-Mihalik reports grants from NCAA-DOD Mind Matters Challenge, National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, Centers for Disease Control, SciMetrika, outside the submitted work. Kevin M. Guskiewicz reports grants from NCAA-DOD Grand Alliance (Clinical and Mind Matters), Centers for Disease Control, and NOCSAE; and non-financial support from NFL, outside the submitted work.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Sports Medicine Rehabilitation.

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Register-Mihalik, J.K., Guskiewicz, K.M. Evidence-Based Management of Sport-Related Concussion: Completing the Puzzle. Curr Phys Med Rehabil Rep 4, 154–160 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40141-016-0121-x

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