The Relation Between Neck Strength and Psychological Distress: Preliminary Evidence from Collegiate Soccer Athletes

Overview

Journal Concussion

Date 2021 Jun 4

PMID 34084557

Citations 2

Authors

Tara Porfido

Nicola L de Souza

Allison M Brown

Jennifer F Buckman

Brian D Fanning Jr

James S Parrott

Carrie Esopenko

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Aim: To examine whether neck strength and symmetry are associated with psychological function in athletes with exposure to repetitive head impacts.

Methods: Collegiate soccer (n = 29) and limited/noncontact (n = 63) athletes without a history of concussion completed the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 and assessments of isometric neck strength. Neck strength symmetry was calculated as the difference in strength between opposing muscle groups.

Results: The results demonstrated that lower neck strength was associated with more symptoms of anxiety, whereas asymmetry in neck strength was associated with more symptoms of somatization and depression in soccer athletes only.

Conclusion: These preliminary results suggest that greater neck strength/symmetry is related to better psychological function in athletes who have higher exposure to repetitive head impacts.

Citing Articles

Neck strength alone does not mitigate adverse associations of soccer heading with cognitive performance in adult amateur players.

Lin C, DeMessie B, Ye K, Hu S, Lipton M PLoS One. 2024; 19(5):e0302463.

PMID: 38753699 PMC: 11098408. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0302463.

Functional Overlay Model of Persistent Post-Concussion Syndrome.

Mavroudis I, Chatzikonstantinou S, Petridis F, Palade O, Ciobica A, Balmus I Brain Sci. 2023; 13(7).

PMID: 37508960 PMC: 10377031. DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13071028.

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