Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39777706›Full record

ReviewSports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.)2025

Is It All in Your Head? Placebo Effects in Concussion Prevention.

James M Smoliga, Chris Bleakley, Alan J Pearce

Abstract readReview
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

3 authors.

James M SmoligaDepartment of Rehabilitation Sciences, Tufts University School of Medicine, 145 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA, 02111, USA. james.smoliga@tufts.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-1895-5687
Chris BleakleySchool of Health Sciences, Ulster University, Belfast, UK.ORCID 0000-0001-9032-9691
Alan J PearceSchool of Health Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-9264-9880

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sports-related concussions (SRCs) are a major health issue in athletes of varying ages, ability levels, and sports. Concerns over the short- and long-term consequences of SRCs have incentivized a wealth of products and policies aimed at reducing SRC risk. Research suggesting the effectiveness of such interventions at reducing SRCs has facilitated their adoption by sports organizations and, in some cases, product commercialization. However, the body of SRC mitigation research is almost entirely devoid of placebo or sham groups, which raises important questions about the true clinical effectiveness of these interventions. This Current Opinion explores the plausibility of placebo effects within the scope of SRC prevention, describes why the lack of placebo/sham groups in the current body of literature is problematic, and provides recommendations for including placebo/sham groups in future SRC research.

Indexed as

Athletic InjuriesBrain ConcussionPlacebo EffectHumans

Identifiers

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

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.