Peak Power: A Severity Measure for Head Acceleration Events Associated with Suspected Concussions
- Open Access
- 19.09.2025
- Original Research Article
Abstract
In most sports, current suspected concussion detection methods rely on visual identification. Peak head kinematic values are often used as a proxy for head acceleration event (HAE) severity, though this has led to inconsistencies in the literature. |
Peak power may be a suitable HAE severity measure in sport. Peak power had the most consistent association with Head Injury Assessment 1 (HIA1) removals in men’s and women’s professional rugby union when compared to other severity measures. |
Peak power has the potential to be utilised as a severity measure for HAE mitigation strategies and suspected concussion detection tools in sport. Peak power may be easier to adopt as a severity measure by players, coaches and other stakeholders owing to its common use in sports performance. |
1 Introduction
2 Methods
2.1 Study Design
2.1.1 Head Acceleration Response Metric (HARM)
2.1.2 Maximum Principal Strain (MPS)
2.1.3 Peak Power
2.2 Instrumented Mouthguards and Head Injury Assessment Event Identification
2.3 Statistical Analysis
3 Results
Coefficients (95% CI) | Wald | P value | AUC (95% CI) | Sensitivity (%) | Specificity y (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | ||||||
Power | 1.001 (1.001–1.001) | 99.7 | < 0.001 | 0.961 (0.924–0.998) | 90.00 | 91.30 |
MPS | 3.03e16 (1.61e13–5.72e19) | 97.2 | < 0.001 | 0.948 (0.906–0.990) | 86.70 | 94.50 |
HARM | 4.206 (3.191–5.543) | 104.0 | < 0.001 | 0.954 (0.914–0.994) | 86.70 | 95.00 |
Women | ||||||
Power | 1.001 (1.001–1.001) | 88.1 | < 0.001 | 0.923 (0.862–0.983) | 82.10 | 93.70 |
MPS | 1.47e10 (5.24e7–4.11e12) | 66.3 | < 0.001 | 0.849 (0.774–0.924) | 82.10 | 76.20 |
HARM | 3.138 (2.488–3.959) | 93.1 | < 0.001 | 0.883 (0.808–0.958) | 71.40 | 94.30 |
Median | Q1–Q3 | AUC (95% CI) | Cut-off | Sensitivity (%) | Specificity (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power (W) | Non-case | 427.43 | (230.92–769.67) | 0.961 (0.923–0.998) | 1508.25 | 90.00 | 91.30 |
HIA1 | 6002.07 | (3709.22–8478.88) | |||||
MPS | Non-case | 0.09 | (0.08–0.12) | 0.948 (0.906–0.991) | 0.17 | 86.70 | 94.50 |
HIA1 | 0.23 | (0.20–0.27) | |||||
HARM | Non-case | 1.23 | (0.88–1.68) | 0.954 (0.914–0.995) | 2.87 | 86.70 | 95.00 |
HIA1 | 5.41 | (3.85–6.33) | |||||
PAA (krad/s2) | Non-case | 0.91 | (0.66–1.35) | 0.937 (0.886–0.987) | 1.96 | 86.70 | 89.20 |
HIA1 | 4.07 | (2.60–6.22) | |||||
PLA (g) | Non-case | 11.42 | (8.37–17.13) | 0.947 (0.906–0.989) | 30.64 | 86.70 | 93.90 |
HIA1 | 56.47 | (34.48–70.59) | |||||
dPAV (rad/s) | Non-case | 7.99 | (5.53–11.37) | 0.927 (0.875–0.980) | 14.75 | 86.70 | 88.60 |
HIA1 | 23.09 | (18.43–32.26) |
Median | Q1–Q3 | AUC (95% CI) | Cut-off | Sensitivity (%) | Specificity (%) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Power (W) | Non-case | 335.21 | (190.12–583.52) | 0.923 (0.861–0.984) | 1193.78 | 82.10 | 93.70 |
HIA1 | 2184.62 | (1397.23–4668.55) | |||||
MPS | Non-case | 0.09 | (0.08–0.12) | 0.849 (0.773–0.926) | 0.12 | 82.10 | 76.70 |
HIA1 | 0.15 | (0.12–0.22) | |||||
HARM | Non-case | 1.22 | (0.88–1.69) | 0.883 (0.807–0.959) | 2.67 | 71.40 | 94.30 |
HIA1 | 2.91 | (1.90–4.96) | |||||
PAA (krad/s2) | Non-case | 0.90 | (0.65–1.33) | 0.917 (0.844–0.990) | 1.68 | 92.90 | 86.50 |
HIA1 | 3.17 | (2.07–4.95) | |||||
PLA (g) | Non-case | 10.91 | (8.13–15.51) | 0.947 (0.911–0.983) | 25.05 | 85.70 | 92.80 |
HIA1 | 43.13 | (27.62–60.49) | |||||
dPAV (rad/s) | Non-case | 8.14 | (5.61–11.68) | 0.821 (0.738–0.903) | 11.16 | 82.10 | 72.50 |
HIA1 | 16.92 | (11.42–20.79) |
Test pairs | AUC difference | 95% CI Lower bound | 95% CI Upper bound | P value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Men | ||||
Power—dPAV | 0.034 | 0.006 | 0.061 | 0.016 |
MPS—dPAV | 0.021 | 0.007 | 0.035 | 0.003 |
HARM—dPAV | 0.027 | 0.013 | 0.041 | 0.001 |
Women | ||||
Power—dPAV | 0.102 | 0.038 | 0.165 | 0.002 |
MPS—PAA | − 0.068 | − 0.108 | − 0.028 | 0.001 |
MPS—PLA | − 0.098 | − 0.154 | − 0.041 | 0.001 |
HARM—PLA | − 0.064 | − 0.110 | − 0.018 | 0.006 |
HARM—dPAV | 0.062 | 0.026 | 0.098 | 0.001 |