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Abstract

The severity of a concussion is determined by the magnitude of the force of impact and the symptoms expressed post-injury. The most current and widely used test to identify a concussion in college athletics is called the Immediate Post Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT). It is a computerized neurocognitive test battery that measures different cognitive abilities and compares baseline with post-injury results. In the current study we formulated a series of physical and psychological cognition tests that measure similar cognitive abilities as the ImPACT. The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that physical tests paired with neurocognitive tests are a better determinate of post-concussion symptoms in athletes than a sedentary neurocognitive battery test alone. Such tests included balance, memory, spatial relations, attention and reaction time. Three different groups of post-concussed history were statistically compared. Group one (controls), consisted of participants with no previous history of a concussion (n=32). Group two (concussed), consisted of participants with a concussion in the past three months and who had recently been cleared to resume full sports activities (n=11). Group three (multiple concussed), consisted of participants with at least five concussions in their lifespan (n=7). A one-way ANOVA and two-tailed independent t-test were ran to observe any differences in tests between groups (p

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