Owning the Podium of Sport Concussion Research

June 12, 2019

Dr. Brian Benson

Benson Concussion Institute at the Canadian Sport Institute in Calgary

In 2012, Own The Podium (OTP) announced that they were funding a new series of research projects to improve concussion identification and treatment among Canada’s elite athletes. Sport concussion was a rising issue in contact sports that was not well understood, keeping players out of the game longer and leading to long-term cognitive impairment. Dr. Brian Benson, a sport and exercise medicine physician and clinician scientist, is leading one of the projects being funded by OTP. He founded the Benson Concussion Institute (BCI) – a division of WinSport Medicine Clinic at the Canadian Sport Institute in Calgary – in order to investigate study methods of sport concussion assessment, management, and prevention.

At BCI, Dr. Benson is using the Kinarm to objectively analyze post-concussion brain dysfunction. With the Adjustable Height Configuration of the Kinarm End-Point Lab, he is able to observe the athlete’s upper limb voluntary control and its integration with whole body postural control. This data provides valuable insights into the athlete’s sensorimotor recovery, enabling medical experts to make informed decisions about the athlete’s return to sport, optimal sport performance, and strategies for prevention. Dr. Benson says that for concussed athletes “timely access to the best possible clinical care is critical to ensure an optimal recovery and safe return to play”.

Dr. Benson’s initial research showed declines in athlete performance in the Kinarm following concussion, specifically in movement speed and reaction time, and improvement in performance throughout the recovery period (Benson et al, 2012). Interestingly, when his studies were expanded to larger sample groups, the post-concussion athletes showed only marginal deficits in sensorimotor and cognitive function (Mang et al, 2018). These results demonstrate the need for more extensive research into the effects of concussions and highlight the potential for objective measures such as the Kinarm to lead to significant advances in the field. Dr. Benson’s ultimate goal is that by quantifying brain damage he will be able to reduce the chances that an athlete returns to play too early.

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Owning the Podium of Sport Concussion Research

Dr. Brian Benson

Benson Concussion Institute at the Canadian Sport Institute in Calgary

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