Confidence to Return to Play After Concussion.
Regan Crofts, Amanda J Morris, David L Quammen and 4 others
PMID 39348879WHAT IT FOUND
Athletes reported low confidence immediately after concussion, which improved over time.
However, 11% returned to competition with lingering confidence concerns. Acute symptom severity predicted initial low confidence, but sex, sport type, and concussion history did not affect confidence recovery.
Key findings
01Confidence to return to play was low acutely after concussion and improved significantly over the recovery timeline.
02Approximately 11% of athletes returned to competition with lingering confidence concerns, defined as scores below 50 on the I-PRRS scale.
03Higher acute symptom severity was associated with lower initial confidence, but this association resolved by the pre-return-to-play timepoint.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
No control group of uninjured athletes was included. The sample was predominantly female, limiting analysis of sport-type differences in men. The study included concussions from various mechanisms (sport and non-sport), which may affect generalizability to sport-specific injuries. Confidence was self-reported and not compared to actual physical performance or ability. The sample size was not powered to detect small differences in subgroups like sport type.
Declared interests
The text does not explicitly state funding sources or conflicts of interest in the provided sentences.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that low confidence at the acute stage predicts long-term psychological issues. Athletes with higher acute symptom severity showed greater increases in confidence over time, meaning initial severity did not correlate with confidence at the pre-return-to-play stage.