Objective Vision-related Indications for Clear and Tinted Football Helmet Visors.

SIGNIFICANCE: Football helmet visors are popular among players and may increase safety. However, they may also be costly or impractical, or impair the evaluation of head and neck injury. Determining an objective list of vision-related clinical conditions may help meet risk-benefit ratios while increasing access to care to athletes with special needs. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine an objective list of vision-related conditions that may benefit from clear and tinted football helmet visor use in athletes. METHODS: After comprehensive dilated eye examinations on 58 Division I collegiate football players at the University of Alabama at Birmingham between February 2017 and June 2018, an expert panel in vision care, sports medicine, and football equipment convened to determine vision-related conditions most important for clear or tinted football helmet visor use. RESULTS: In August 2018, the list drafted by the expert vision and sports medical panel in which a clear football helmet visor might be justified included conditions associated with retinal detachment and unilateral or binocular vision loss as well as high refractive error, refractive surgery, corneal compromise, and other conditions, which would necessitate additional eye protection. Of the 58 players examined, 3 (5%) were determined to have eye conditions that would require a clear visor as deemed by the expert panel, and 3 (5%) were determined to have eye conditions for which a clear visor was recommended. No players met indications for a tinted visor including congenital eye conditions that limit useful vision in daylight or bright-light environments, acquired conditions that may increase light sensitivity, and light-induced systemic conditions. CONCLUSIONS: This objective list of eye and vision-related systemic conditions is intended to mitigate the risk of long-term eye damage and/or vision deprivation. Clear and especially tinted football helmet visors require the sports medicine team to evaluate factors that will maximize the vision, head, and neck health of the athlete while increasing accessibility to sports for individuals with unique abilities.

King-Devick and Pre-season Visual Function in Adolescent Athletes.

PURPOSE: The King-Devick test (KD) has been studied as a remove-from-play sideline test in college-age athletes and older; however, studies in younger athletes are limited. A cross-sectional study of the KD and other vision correlates was completed on school-aged athletes during pre-season physicals for a variety of sports to determine the repeatability of the KD. The study also evaluated how convergence, alignment, or pupil function contributed to a slower King-Devick baseline reading. METHODS: Seven hundred eighty-five athletes underwent vision screenings in a hospital or school setting by trained/certified staff as part of pre-season physicals. Six hundred nineteen had KD testing completed per the manufacturer's suggested protocol and repeated. Other baseline vision testing included visual acuity, Modified Thorington testing for alignment, convergence testing, and pupil function using the NeurOptics (NPI-200) NPi. RESULTS: The mean fastest, error-minimized KD time for all participants was 43.9 seconds(s) (SD ± 11.6, range 24-120). Median KD time got faster (+) with age (p < 0.0001). The inter-class correlation coefficient for all scores was 0.92. The absolute mean time difference for any two tests was 3.5 s (SD ± 2.5, range 0-23). There was no association between the best KD time and reduced NPC (p = 0.63), Modified Thorington measure of alignment (p = 0.55), or NPi pupil function (p = 0.79). The Bland Altman repeated measure limits of agreement was ±6.5 seconds for those in the 10th to12th grades, and ±10.2 seconds for those in the 6th to 9th grades. CONCLUSIONS: King-Devick score in junior high and high school athletes is variable but gets faster and more repeatable with increasing age. The KD does not correlate significantly with reduced convergence, alignment, or pupil function. Based on grouped data, a slowing of 10 seconds for younger athletes and 6 seconds for older athletes on a second administration represents a true difference in testing speed. Within-player variability should be considered when removal-from-play decisions are influenced by KD results.

Academic Difficulty and Vision Symptoms in Children with Concussion.

PURPOSE: Academic difficulty is reported in children with prolonged post-concussive symptoms. Despite growing evidence that vestibular-ocular and vision-specific dysfunction are common in children after concussion, vision is rarely mentioned in return-to-learn protocols. The purpose of this project was to evaluate a cohort of children with prolonged post-concussive symptoms to determine if vision symptoms are associated with those reporting academic difficulty. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Children's of Alabama Concussion Clinic REDCap dataset from the period January 2007 to October 2013. From this dataset of 1033 concussion events, a cohort of 276 children aged 5 to 18 years with three or more concussion-related symptoms present for 10 days or more was identified. A cross-sectional cohort study was undertaken to evaluate the association of concussion symptoms, SCAT2 scores, and demographic and concussion severity markers to reported educational difficulty among children with prolonged post-concussive symptoms. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression techniques were used to model the association of reported educational difficulty to self-reported vision abnormalities. RESULTS: Mean age was 13.8 years. Median time since the concussive event was 21 days, with 33% (95/276) reporting their concussion more than 30 days before data collection. Academic difficulty was reported by 29% (79/270) and vision abnormalities in 46% (128/274). After model reduction, vision symptoms (OR 2.17, 95% CI 1.02, 4.62), hearing disturbance (OR 2.39, 95% CI 1.06, 5.36), and concentration difficulty (OR 21.62, 95% CI 9.50, 44.47) remained associated with academic difficulty. For those with symptoms 30 days or more after concussion, only vision (OR 3.15, 95% CI 1.06, 9.38) and concentration difficulty (OR 15.33, 95% CI 4.99, 47.05) remained statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS: Vision problems were commonly reported in children with concussions and were independently associated with those reporting academic difficulty. Comprehensive vision assessment should be considered in children reporting academic difficulty and in the development of return-to-learn protocols.

Acute Lumbar Paraspinal Myonecrosis in Football Players with Sickle Cell Trait: A Case Series.

We report six cases of a novel syndrome of acute, exertional low back pain in football players, five in college and one in the National Football League. All six are African Americans with sickle cell trait (SCT). The acute low back pain is severe and can be disabling, and the condition can be confused with muscle strain, discogenic pain, stress fracture, or other problems in athletes. Our evidence shows that this syndrome is caused by lumbar paraspinal myonecrosis (LPSMN), which likely often contributes to the lumbar paraspinal compartment syndrome. We explain why we believe SCT is a risk factor for LPSMN in football conditioning/training, although SCT is not requisite for this syndrome, which has been reported rarely in other sports (e.g., snow or water skiing) and especially in weight lifting that targets lumbar muscles. The clinical course of LPSMN in football can be mild and allow return to play in a week or two, or it can be severe and lead to long-term sequelae. Knowledge of this syndrome will enable athletic trainers and team physicians to diagnose it early, treat it properly, and lessen its effect. Further research will help us learn how better to prevent it.