SynthesisSports health
Validity of Research Based on Publicly Obtained Data in Sports Medicine: A Quantitative Assessment of Concussions in the National Football League.
Synthesis in Sports health. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- The Sport Publication Observational Research Tool (SPORT): An Objective Tool to Score the Methodological Quality of Observational Clinical Sports Medicine Research.Orthopaedic journal of sports medicine · 2026Article
- Ensuring Scientific Rigor in Research: Why Sports-Related Publicly Obtained Data Fall Short.Foot & ankle orthopaedics · 2025Article
- Publicly available data sources in sport-related concussion research: a caution for missing data.Injury epidemiology · 2024Article
- Health consultations at a performing arts health centre among classical music students based on electronic health record data: a cross-sectional study.Frontiers in psychology · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextNumerous researchers have leveraged publicly available internet sources to publish clinical research concerning incidence and recovery from injuries in National Football League (NFL) players.
objectiveThis study aims to (1) provide a comprehensive systematic review of all publicly obtained data studies (PODS) regarding concussions in NFL athletes and (2) quantify the percentage of injuries identified by these studies in comparison with published concussion data from the NFL injury database. STUDY SELECTION: A systematic review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines to identify all published studies utilizing publicly obtained data regarding concussions in NFL athletes. STUDY
designSystematic review. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Level 4. DATA EXTRACTION: Manuscript details, factors related to the athletes of interest (eg, study period, positions included), and results (eg, concussion rate, number of total concussions, return-to-play data) were extracted independently by 2 authors. Results were compared with incident concussions reported from 2015 to 2019 by each medical staff member to the NFL database linked to the League's electronic health record (EHR).
resultsA total of 20 concussion-focused manuscripts based on PODS were identified from 2014 to 2020. PODS captured between 20% and 90% of concussions (mean, 70%) reported by medical staff to the injury database. PODS reported that 55% of concussions occurred on offensive plays, 45% on defensive plays and <1% occurred during special teams plays, compared with 44%, 37%, and 18%, respectively, as indicated by published data from the NFL injury database. When analyzed by position groups, running backs and quarterbacks comprised the most over-represented positions concussed in PODS, while offensive linemen, defensive backs, and linebackers comprised the most under-represented positions.
conclusionPODS captured approximately 70% of concussions reported by NFL medical staff to the NFL injury database. There is heterogeneity in the degree to which PODS were able to identify concussions, with a bias toward concussions among players at higher profile positions.
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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.