Concussions in gymnasts : exploring the national electronic injury surveillance system from 2018to 2022

Chhabra, Jaineet (author), Liang, Kristine (author), Hannon, Martin (author), Hollister, Nathan (author), Voong, Tony (author), Dorian, Jason (author), Marquez, Raul (author), Kuykendall, David (author), Barnes, Glenn (author), Gaal, Wade (author)

Gymnastics is a dynamic sport that carries inherent risks of injuriy, including concussions. Despite its popularity, there is a paucity of research focusing on concussions among gymnasts. The purpose of this retrospective, descriptive epidemiological study was to investigate the mechanism of injury and recovery in gymnasts following concussion over a recent 5-year period using the most available information from a national database. Our investigation utilized publicly available data from the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) between 2018 and 2022. We reviewed 155 cases of gymnastics-related concussions, examining demographics, treatment trends, injury mechanisms, and associated diagnoses. Our study found a high incidence of concussions among adolescent female gymnasts. The most common events at the time of injury leading to gymnastics-related concussions were balance beam, high bar, flips, and/or backflips. The most commonly reported diagnoses associated with concussions were neck injuries, including neck pain, sprain, and/or strain. Concussions are a significant concern in gymnastics. Future research should focus on longitudinal assessments and detailed injury mechanisms to inform evidence-based preventive strategies.

• Language: English
• Keywords: sport, concussion, epidemiology, gymnastics
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FŠ - Faculty of Sport
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 373-384, 507
• Numbering: Vol. 17, iss. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-183719
• UDC: 796.41
• ISSN on article: 1855-7171
• DOI: 10.52165/sgj.17.3.373-384
• COBISS.SI-ID: 272711683

Copyright

Podatek o licenci CC BY-SA 4.0 je naveden na pristajalni strani članka (glej zgoraj izvorni URL). (Datum opombe: 19. 6. 2026)

Note

DOI, ki je naveden v članku (10.52165/sgj.17.3.373-384) ne deluje. Deluje DOI, ki je naveden na pristajalni strani članka (glej zgoraj izvorni URL), tj. 10.52165/sgj.17.3.373-385 (https://doi.org/10.52165/sgj.17.3.373-385). (Datum opombe: 19. 6. 2026)

• Publication date in RUL: 19.06.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Science of gymnastics journal
• Publisher: Department of Gymnastics, Faculty of Sport, University of Ljubljana, University of Ljubljana Press
• ISSN: 1855-7171
• COBISS.SI-ID: 246418176

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Pretresi možganov pri telovadkah in telovadcih

Abstract

Telovadba je dinamična dejavnost, ki s seboj prinaša tudi tveganje za poškodbe, med njimi pretres možganov. Kljub priljubljenosti je raziskav o pretresih možganov pri telovadcih malo. Namen te za nazaj usmerjene, opisne raziskave s področja javnega zdravja je bil v zadnjih petih letih razčleniti način nastanka poškodbe in okrevanje telovadcev po pretresu možganov, pri čemer smo uporabili najbolj razpoložljive podatke iz državne zbirke. Uporabili smo javno dostopne podatke Komisije ZDA za varnost potrošniških izdelkov (ang. Consumer Product Safety Commission – CPSC), in Državnega elektronskega sistema nadzora poškodb (ang. National Electronic Injury Surveillance System – NEISS) za obdobje 2018–2022. Pregledali smo 155 primerov pretresov povezanih s telovadbo in proučili značilnosti oseb, načine obravnave, načine nastanka poškodb ter spremljajoče diagnoze. Ugotovili smo veliko pogostost pretresov pri mladih telovadkah. Najpogosteje je do pretresov prišlo na gredi, na bradljah (zlasti dvovišinski) ter pri saltih naprej in/ali nazaj. Najpogosteje prijavljene spremljajoče diagnoze so bile poškodbe vratu, vključno z bolečino v vratu ter zvinom in/ali nategom. Pretresi možganov so v telovadbi pomemben izziv. V prihodnje naj se raziskave osredotočijo na daljše spremljanje skozi čas in podrobnejši opis načinov nastanka poškodb, da bomo lahko oblikovali na dokazih utemeljene preprečevalne ukrepe.

• Keywords: šport, gimnastika, telovadba, pretres možganov, epidemiologija