Sports concussion assessment: the effect of exercise on dynamic and static balance

This study determined the effect of exercise on measures of static and dynamic balance used in the assessment of sports‐related concussion (SRC). A balanced three‐group cross‐over randomized design was used with three levels of exercise verified by blood‐lactate, heart rate and “perceived‐exertion”: no exercise/rest (NE), moderate‐intensity exercise (ME), and high‐intensity exercise (HE). Participants performed two timed balance tasks: tandem gait (TG) and single‐leg stance (SLS); pre‐ and post‐exercise and 15 min after exercise. Linear mixed‐models with adjusted means and contrasts compared exercise effects. Ninety asymptomatic participants (45♂:45♀) were recruited. When times were contrasted with NE; HE resulted in a significant decrease in SLS (P