Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29349651›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2018

Epidemiology of Head Injuries Focusing on Concussions in Team Contact Sports: A Systematic Review.

Annika Prien, Alexander Grafe, Roland Rössler, Astrid Junge, Evert Verhagen

Registry-linked trialOpen access · greenAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06473883 (Effects of Vestibulo-oculomotor and Neuromuscular Training on the Incidence of Concussions and Musculoskeletal Injuries in Competitive Female Football Players), which is not on this map. Cited by 72 papers, 11 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
72citing papers in PubMed, 11 pooled it
13.1field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT06473883 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2024, after this paper: background citation

Effects of Vestibulo-oculomotor and Neuromuscular Training on the Incidence of Concussions and Musculoskeletal Injuries in Competitive Female Football Players

TypeinterventionalSponsorBrainCare Medical GroupRan2024 to 2025Enrolled209ConditionsConcussion, Brain, Musculoskeletal PainArmsTraining recommendation
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

72 citing papers in PubMed, 11 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 201 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  8. Guideline
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  12. Review
  13. Article
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  18. Review
  19. Rugby Injury Imaging.Seminars in musculoskeletal radiology · 2025
    Review
  20. Article

12 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 5 countries.

Annika PrienDepartment of Prevention, Health Promotion and Sports Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. annika.prien@medicalschool-hamburg.de.
Alexander GrafeDepartment of Prevention, Health Promotion and Sports Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Roland RösslerAmsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports, Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Astrid JungeDepartment of Prevention, Health Promotion and Sports Medicine, MSH Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany.
Evert VerhagenAmsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports, Department of Public and Occupational Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, VU University Medical Centre, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
MSH Medical School Hamburg – University of Applied Sciences and Medical University · DEHealth & Safety in Sports · NLSchulthess-Klinik · CHUniversity of Cape Town · ZA

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundAlthough injuries to the head represent a small proportion of all sport injuries, they are of great concern due to their potential long-term consequences, which are even suspected in mild traumatic brain injuries.

objectiveThe aim of this review was to compare the incidence of concussions and other head injuries in elite level football, rugby, ice hockey and American Football.

methodsFour electronic databases (CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, PubMed) were searched. Prospective cohort studies on the incidence of concussion in elite athletes aged 17 years or older that were published in an English-language peer-reviewed journal since 2000 were included. Two authors independently evaluated study eligibility and quality. The extracted data on concussions were pooled in a meta-analysis using an inverse-variance fixed-effects model. The extracted data on head injuries were reported in a narrative and tabular summary.

resultsThe search yielded 7673 results of which 70 articles were included in the qualitative and 47 in the quantitative analysis. In our meta-analysis, we found the highest concussion incidences in rugby match play (3.89 and 3.00 concussions per 1000 h and athletic exposures (AEs), respectively), and the lowest in men's football training (0.01 and 0.08 per 1000 h and AEs, respectively). Overall, concussions and all head injuries were rare in training when compared to match play. Female players had an increased concussion risk in football and ice hockey when compared to male players.

conclusionFuture research should focus on concussion in women's contact sports, as there is little evidence available in this area. Methodological deficits are frequent in the current literature, especially regarding sample size and study power, and should be avoided.

Indexed as

FootballAdolescentAthletesAthletic InjuriesBrain ConcussionFemaleHockeyHumansIncidenceMaleSoccer

Identifiers

PMID29349651
OpenAlexW2783518530

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.