A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion

Background: Guidelines for clinicians treating military concussion recommend exertional testing before return-to-duty, yet there is currently no standardized task or inclusion of an objective physiological measure like heart rate variability (HRV). Methodology & results: We pilot-tested two clin...

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Main Authors: Julianna H Prim, Maria I Davila, Karen L McCulloch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Aldus Press 2021-03-01
Series:Concussion
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/cnc-2020-0018
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author Julianna H Prim
Maria I Davila
Karen L McCulloch
author_facet Julianna H Prim
Maria I Davila
Karen L McCulloch
author_sort Julianna H Prim
collection DOAJ
description Background: Guidelines for clinicians treating military concussion recommend exertional testing before return-to-duty, yet there is currently no standardized task or inclusion of an objective physiological measure like heart rate variability (HRV). Methodology & results: We pilot-tested two clinically feasible exertional tasks that include HRV measures and examined reliability of a commercially available heart rate monitor. Testing healthy participants confirmed that the 6-min step test and 2-min pushup test evoked the targeted physiological response, and the Polar H10 was reliable to the gold-standard electrocardiogram. Conclusion: Both tasks are brief assessments that can be implemented into primary care setting including the Polar H10 as an affordable way to access HRV. Additional research utilizing these tasks to evaluate concussion recovery can validate standardized exertional tasks for clinical use.
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language English
publishDate 2021-03-01
publisher Aldus Press
record_format Article
series Concussion
spelling doaj-art-cd0c09652dff4393a3522a2fd738f0402025-08-20T03:03:46ZengAldus PressConcussion2056-32992021-03-016110.2217/cnc-2020-0018A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussionJulianna H Prim0Maria I Davila1Karen L McCulloch21Department of Allied Health Sciences, Curriculum in Human Movement Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA2Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA1Department of Allied Health Sciences, Curriculum in Human Movement Science, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USABackground: Guidelines for clinicians treating military concussion recommend exertional testing before return-to-duty, yet there is currently no standardized task or inclusion of an objective physiological measure like heart rate variability (HRV). Methodology & results: We pilot-tested two clinically feasible exertional tasks that include HRV measures and examined reliability of a commercially available heart rate monitor. Testing healthy participants confirmed that the 6-min step test and 2-min pushup test evoked the targeted physiological response, and the Polar H10 was reliable to the gold-standard electrocardiogram. Conclusion: Both tasks are brief assessments that can be implemented into primary care setting including the Polar H10 as an affordable way to access HRV. Additional research utilizing these tasks to evaluate concussion recovery can validate standardized exertional tasks for clinical use.https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/cnc-2020-0018autonomic dysfunctionexercise intoleranceexertional tasksheart rate variabilitymilitary concussionprimary care
spellingShingle Julianna H Prim
Maria I Davila
Karen L McCulloch
A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
Concussion
autonomic dysfunction
exercise intolerance
exertional tasks
heart rate variability
military concussion
primary care
title A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
title_full A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
title_fullStr A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
title_full_unstemmed A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
title_short A pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
title_sort pilot study on exertional tasks with physiological measures designed for the assessment of military concussion
topic autonomic dysfunction
exercise intolerance
exertional tasks
heart rate variability
military concussion
primary care
url https://www.futuremedicine.com/doi/10.2217/cnc-2020-0018
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