265093 Chiropractic management of concussion in sport: A literature review and review of current guidelines

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 3:00 PM - 3:15 PM

Claire Johnson, MSEd, DC , Editor, Professor, National University of Health Sciences, Escondido, CA
Bart Green, MSEd, DC , Branch Medical Clinic MCAS Miramar, Naval Medical Center San Diego, San Diego, CA
Robert Nelson, DC , Immediate Past President, ACBSP, Lakewood, CO
Bill Moreau, DC , Director of Medical Clinics - United States Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO
Dustin Nabhan, DC , Doctor of Chiropractic- United States Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO
Objective: In the US, of 1.7 million people with traumatic brain injury (TBI), 52,000 die and 275,000 are hospitalized annually. Approximately 75% of TBIs are concussions or mild TBI. Concussion is a common sport injury that may be seen by doctors of chiropractic and should be managed following current practice guidelines. The purpose of this abstract is to present a literature review of chiropractic management of concussion in sport and to review current guidelines.

Methods: PubMed was searched using MeSH terms: “chiropractic” and each of the following “concussion,” “traumatic brain injury,” “brain injury,” or “brain injuries.” Search dates were the beginning record through January 22, 2012. All languages and article types were included. Articles were retrieved and evaluated for relevance to chiropractic management of concussion in sport.

Results: Five articles relevant to chiropractic were found (1 prospective study, 1 case report, 1 survey, 2 literature reviews) ranging in publication from 1993 to 2009. No papers reported a chiropractic position statement and none provided a review of current concussion management practices related to chiropractic practice. No papers included the current statement on concussion in sport from the 3rd International Conference, Zurich, 2008. This presentation describes current evidence-based concussion guidelines, including injury prevention and management in chiropractic practice.

Conclusion: Publication is sparse on chiropractic management of concussion in sport. More research and publications, such as position or consensus statements, are needed to inform the chiropractic profession on best practices of injury prevention and management of concussion in sport.

Learning Areas:
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss concussion in sport from the public health viewpoint 2. Describe current publications on chiropractic management of concussion in sport 3. Describe current on field concussion guidelines 4. Identify areas for future research and development for how the chiropractic profession can become more involved with current concussion management practices.

Keywords: Traumatic Brain Injury, Injury Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have met all 3 of the criteria for authorship: 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, and analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article and revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be submitted. I have a degree in health professions education and have participated in clinical/educational programs that are healthcare related.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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