Neurocognitive and Reactive Return to Play Testing Protocol in Overhead Athletes Following Upper Extremity Injury.
Kevin E Wilk, Zachary M Thomas, Robert E Mangine and 2 others
PMID 38050554WHAT IT FOUND
Tap, reaction time, and error values from baseball and softball athletes are described for a proposed return-to-play protocol, but no evidence yet shows the tests predict return to play or reduce reinjury.
Key findings
01A four-test reactive neurocognitive return-to-play sequence for baseball and softball overhead athletes uses the Blaze Pod light system.
02Preliminary reference values are reported for 143 athletes, including taps, reaction time, and errors, but no follow-up return-to-play outcomes are reported.
03The authors state reliability and validity for return to play, return to performance, or reinjury prevention are not yet available.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This is a clinical commentary and proposed testing protocol, not a controlled study of return-to-play outcomes. The authors state that reliability and validity for return to play, return to performance, and reinjury prevention are not yet available. The preliminary values come from 143 athletes, but the paper does not state whether they had a current upper extremity injury. The paper does not report how the reference values should be used to clear an athlete for return to play.
The easy way to misread this
Do not treat the Blaze Pod reference values as validated return-to-play criteria. The paper says the tests are still being studied for reliability and validity, and it reports no follow-up data on return to play, return to performance, or reinjury prevention.