The Comparative Mental Health Responses Between Post-Musculoskeletal Injury and Post-Concussive Injury Among Collegiate Athletes: A Systematic Review.
Joseph Sabol, Cecelia Kane, Mark P Wilhelm and 2 others
PMID 33604129WHAT IT FOUND
Collegiate athletes with concussions and those with musculoskeletal injuries showed similar patterns of depression and anxiety.
Anxiety scores dropped initially but often remained clinically significant. Athletes frequently returned to play before their psychological symptoms resolved, regardless of injury type.
Key findings
01Anxiety scores for both concussion and musculoskeletal injury groups dropped between baseline and one week, but over half of participants still exceeded the threshold for clinical anxiety.
02Depressive symptoms peaked within the first week post-injury for both groups and then gradually decreased, though some studies found no significant difference from baseline.
03There were no significant differences in anxiety scores between concussed and musculoskeletal injury groups at baseline or follow-up.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Only six studies were included, with four having small sample sizes (50 or fewer participants). Four studies reported data only in line graphs, lacking specific mean values for meta-analysis. Definitions of musculoskeletal injury varied across studies, and severity was not subcategorized. Follow-up time was insufficient in many studies, and confounding factors were not addressed. No data were reported on mental health outcomes after return to play.
Declared interests
No potential conflicts of interest were reported by the authors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that concussions cause worse mental health outcomes than musculoskeletal injuries. The review found similar patterns of anxiety and depression in both groups, with no significant differences in anxiety scores between them.