The Effect of Concussion History on an On-Field Assessment of Cognitive-Motor Integration in Male and Female Varsity Athletes: Reliability of the HurtSHynes™ Test

Current metrics for assessing athlete performance following concussion measures cognition followed by movement. Success in sport performance requires the simultaneous integration of cognition and action, cognitive-motor integration (CMI). Athletes with a history of concussion (HOC) exhibit performance deficits on CMI tasks. Here, we observed the effects of concussion history on a new CMI sideline assessment task, the HurtSHynes™ Test, in varsity student-athletes. Females with HOC were the least likely to incur an error and were on average faster than females with no HOC. Males with HOC were on average slower than males with no HOC. Performance of females with HOC suggests that females may have better visuomotor skill recovery than males post-injury. The HurtSHynes™ Test demonstrated excellent inter-rater reliability (ICC > 0.90) and good-to-excellent intra-rater reliability (ICC > 0.75). We suggest this measure may be useful as a quick and objective measure to assist in guiding return-to-play decisions.