@article{ref1,
title="Collision avoidance behaviors of recently concussed female rugby players with an approaching person",
journal="Journal of biomechanics",
year="2021",
author="Powers, Kaley C. and Pfaff, Lana M. and Cinelli, Michael E.",
volume="128",
number="",
pages="e110776-e110776",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Successful collision avoidance requires individuals to use readily available perceptual information to make decisions and act within their action capabilities. Female varsity rugby players use time-to-collision information to get closer to an obstacle before deviating; however, following a sport-related concussion (SRC), individuals may not be able to use the same strategies due to poorer action boundary perception. The current study examined the effects of a SRC on collision avoidance with an approaching person. <br><br>METHODS: Non-concussed female varsity rugby athletes (ATH, n = 10) and recently concussed but asymptomatic teammates (CONC, n = 3) were instructed to walk at a comfortable pace and avoid colliding with an approaching confederate. Time-to-collision (TTC), rate of medial-lateral (ML) avoidance, and ML spatial requirement were calculated and analyzed using mixed repeated measures ANOVAs. <br><br>FINDINGS: There were no physical characteristic differences between groups (p < 0.05) and no collisions occurred on any of the trials. However, CONC displayed larger TTC than ATH (p = 0.03), indicative of a more cautious avoidance strategy. <br><br>INTERPRETATION: While rugby players are trained to avoid opponents, a more cautious strategy following a SRC may reflect visuomotor detraining and changes in embodiment. This suggests that despite being asymptomatic, there is a reduced sense of agency during dynamic perception-action tasks and persistent alterations between pre-concussion and post-concussion self.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0021-9290",
doi="10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110776",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbiomech.2021.110776"
}