Researchers Identify Fast Injury Response
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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2009) − A University of Kentucky research team has
identified an immediate and robust forearm response that occurs when moderate forces have been
applied to the head, which may help coaches and staff guide return-to-play
decisions.
The researchers, led by Jonathan Lifshitz, an assistant professor in the UK Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC), discuss the "fencing response" as an almost instantaneous physical reaction to a moderate-force brain injury in a paper published today by Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, a scholarly journal.
Lifshitz describes the fencing response as forearm posturing that resembles the "en garde" position in competitive sword fighting. It also can appear to be a defensive boxing pose.
Lifshitz and his team reviewed some 2,000 head injury, concussion and knock-out videos on YouTube for impacts to the head, where the person did not get up immediately. Of three-dozen videos, two-thirds showed an athlete's immediate forearm reaction to an impact involving the head, particularly in football and mixed martial arts.
"We could see that the fencing response frequently takes place before the player even hits the ground," Lifshitz said.
Among the videos was the collision of Baltimore Raven Willis McGahee and Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Clark on Jan. 18, 2009, in an AFC playoff game. The players' head-to-head collision, which left both laying on the field for an extended period, clearly shows McGahee's immediate fencing response.
The fencing response is indicative of blood vessel and neuronal damage in a critical brainstem region that controls balance.
The results of the research provide coaches and trainers at every level of sports, but especially to those involved in recreational and school contact sports at the elementary, middle and high school level, with the ability to identify objectively the seriousness of an impact involving the head, Lifshitz said.
"The observation of the fencing response can help coaches and trainers make immediate and future return-to-play decisions," Lifshitz said.
The researchers, led by Jonathan Lifshitz, an assistant professor in the UK Spinal Cord & Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC), discuss the "fencing response" as an almost instantaneous physical reaction to a moderate-force brain injury in a paper published today by Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, a scholarly journal.
Lifshitz describes the fencing response as forearm posturing that resembles the "en garde" position in competitive sword fighting. It also can appear to be a defensive boxing pose.
Lifshitz and his team reviewed some 2,000 head injury, concussion and knock-out videos on YouTube for impacts to the head, where the person did not get up immediately. Of three-dozen videos, two-thirds showed an athlete's immediate forearm reaction to an impact involving the head, particularly in football and mixed martial arts.
"We could see that the fencing response frequently takes place before the player even hits the ground," Lifshitz said.
Among the videos was the collision of Baltimore Raven Willis McGahee and Pittsburgh Steeler Ryan Clark on Jan. 18, 2009, in an AFC playoff game. The players' head-to-head collision, which left both laying on the field for an extended period, clearly shows McGahee's immediate fencing response.
The fencing response is indicative of blood vessel and neuronal damage in a critical brainstem region that controls balance.
The results of the research provide coaches and trainers at every level of sports, but especially to those involved in recreational and school contact sports at the elementary, middle and high school level, with the ability to identify objectively the seriousness of an impact involving the head, Lifshitz said.
"The observation of the fencing response can help coaches and trainers make immediate and future return-to-play decisions," Lifshitz said.