Leahy, Róisín ORCID: 0000-0002-9902-5683 (2022) Understanding sport-related concussion in Ladies Gaelic Football: prevalence, management practices, and clinical assessment. PhD thesis, Dublin City University.
Abstract
Background: Ladies Gaelic Football (LGF) is a popular Irish female sport. Sport-related concussion (SRC) has been identified as a concern in LGF, however little is known about its prevalence and management in LGF. A lack of normative and reliability data on multi-domain assessments in female, community-sport athletes increases the clinical challenges of managing SRC in LGF.
Aim: (i) Examine SRC prevalence and management practices in LGF, (ii) Investigate factors associated with SRC management behaviour, (iii) Develop normative data for a multi-domain SRC assessment in LGF players, and (iv) Assess the test-retest reliability of this assessment after sixand twelve-months.
Methods: We collected data on 657 LGF players’ previous experiences with SRC using an online survey. We developed a multi-domain SRC assessment to capture the full range of SRC signs and symptoms. One hundred and thirty-eight participants completed an initial assessment. Forty-seven participants were re-assessed after six months and a separate group of 72 participants were reassessed after twelve months.
Results: A suspected SRC was sustained by 17.5% during the previous season and SRCs were often poorly managed. The main factor associated with appropriate management behaviour was being diagnosed by a medical professional. Normative data were presented on a multi-domain SRC assessment. Adolescent participants demonstrated worse scores on several cognitive and vestibular measures compared with adult participants (p<0.05), however no differences in baseline were
reported based on playing level or concussion history. Test-retest reliability for the GSC, CP Screen, PHQ-9, and GAD-7 was moderate after six and twelve-months, however all other tests showed inadequate reliability.
Conclusion: SRC is an issue in LGF and may be poorly managed, putting players at risk of complications. Clinicians should consider utilising a multi-domain assessment to assist in diagnosing and rehabilitating SRC. However, due to poor test-retest reliability, there may be limited applicability for baseline testing.
Metadata
Item Type: | Thesis (PhD) |
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Date of Award: | November 2022 |
Refereed: | No |
Supervisor(s): | O'Connor, Siobhán, Whyte, Enda and Rochfort, Keith |
Uncontrolled Keywords: | Concussion; Female community sports |
Subjects: | Medical Sciences > Health Medical Sciences > Sports sciences |
DCU Faculties and Centres: | DCU Faculties and Schools > Faculty of Science and Health > School of Health and Human Performance |
Funders: | Irish Research Council, Ladies Gaelic Football Association |
ID Code: | 27701 |
Deposited On: | 18 Nov 2022 09:59 by Siobhan O'connor . Last Modified 05 Oct 2024 04:30 |
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