Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31175636›Full record

SynthesisSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2019

Frequency and Magnitude of Game-Related Head Impacts in Male Contact Sports Athletes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Jack V K Nguyen, James H Brennan, Biswadev Mitra, Catherine Willmott

Abstract readMeta-AnalysisSystematic Review
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Review
  6. Quantitative video analysis of head acceleration events: a review.Frontiers in bioengineering and biotechnology · 2025
    Review
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Jack V K NguyenSchool of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6698-1935
James H BrennanNational Trauma Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3912-6367
Biswadev MitraNational Trauma Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0508-2450
Catherine WillmottSchool of Psychological Sciences and Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. catherine.willmott@monash.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8517-9035

Funding

National Health and Medical Research Council APP1133923
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSensor devices have enabled estimations of head impact kinematics across contact sports.

objectivesTo quantitatively report the magnitude (linear and rotational acceleration) and frequency of game-related head impacts recorded in male contact sports athletes.

methodsA systematic review was conducted in June 2017. Inclusion criteria were English-language in vivo studies published after 1990 with a study population of male athletes aged ≥ 16 years, in any sport, where athletes were instrumented with an accelerometer device for measuring head impacts. Study populations were not limited to players with a clinical diagnosis of concussion.

resultsTwenty-one studies met the inclusion criteria with 12 conducted on American Football athletes. Six of these studies were included for meta-analysis. At a threshold of 10g, amateur rugby players sustained the most impacts per player per game (mean = 77, SD = 42), followed by amateur Australian Football (mean = 29, SD = 37) and collegiate lacrosse athletes (mean = 11.5, SD = 3.6). At thresholds of greater than 14.4g, high school American Football athletes sustained between 19 (SD = 19.1) and 24.4 (SD = 22.4) impacts per player per game. Statistically significant heterogeneity was observed among the included studies, and meta-analysis of impact magnitude was limited.

conclusionsThe frequency of "head acceleration events" was quantified and demonstrated substantial variation in methodology and reporting of results. Future research with standardised reporting of head impacts and inclusion of non-helmeted sports is warranted to enable more robust comparisons across sports. PROSPERO ID: CRD42017070065.

Indexed as

AccelerationAthletesAthletic InjuriesBrain ConcussionCraniocerebral TraumaFootballHockeyHumansMaleObservational Studies as TopicRacquet SportsSoccer

Identifiers

PMID31175636

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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Registered trials

None linked

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.