Assessment

Return to contact training readiness assessment

Head Injury Assessment

You can of course undertake your assessment as you wish. This includes further history, and examination and investigation as you see fit.
This should include a mix of the following:

Assessment Techniques

Symptoms

Below are 22 symptoms that are commonly associated with concussion.

  • Headache
  • "Pressure in head"
  • NeckPain
  • Nausea or vomiting
  • Dizziness
  • Blurred vision
  • Balance problems
  • Sensitivity to light
  • Sensitivity to noise
  • Feeling slowed down
  • Feeling like "in a fog"
  • "Don’t feel right"
  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Difficulty remembering
  • Fatigue or low energy
  • Confusion
  • Drowsiness
  • More emotional
  • Irritability
  • Sadness
  • Nervous or Anxious
  • Trouble falling asleep

Memory

Memory can be tested in a number of ways, below are some commonly used methods.

Immediate memory

Read the words from one of the lists to the patient and have them repeat back as many as they can. This test is repeated 3 times with the same list. A normal range score is 12 or more correct.

Pick any list

  • Finger. Penny. Blanket. Lemon. Insect
  • Baby. Monkey. Perfume. Sunset. Iron
  • Jacket. Arrow. Pepper. Cotton. Movie

NOTE: Do not tell the patient but the list you use can be used at the end of your assessment to test DELAYED Recall

Digits Backwards

Read the numbers to the patient and have them repeat them back to you in reverse order. They have 2 chances to get a string length correct. If they make a mistake read them a different string of the same length, if they make 2 mistakes on one string then the assessment is finished.
Pick any list.

  • 4-9-3 / 6-2-9
  • 3-8-1-4 / 3-2-7-9
  • 6-2-9-7-1 / 1-5-2-8-6
  • 7-1-8-4-6-2 / 5-3-9-1-4-8

Delayed Recall

To test the delayed recall ability at the end of the assessment ask the patient to repeat back as many of the words that you asked them earlier in the assessment. Do not promt with any words.

  • Finger. Penny. Blanket. Lemon. Insect
  • Baby. Monkey. Perfume. Sunset. Iron
  • Jacket. Arrow. Pepper. Cotton. Movie

Neurological Screen

Can the patient read aloud (e.g. symptom checklist) and follow instructions without difficulty?
Does the patient have a full range of pain-free PASSIVE cervical spine movement?
Without moving their head or neck, can the patient look side-to-side and up-and-down without double vision?
Can the patient perform the finger nose coordination test normally?

Balance Screen

Balance testing takes 20 seconds. There are different options available to you, being Double leg stance, Single Leg stance and Tandem stance.

When conducting a balance test the patient should, take their shoes off (if applicable), roll up their pant legs above ankle (if applicable).
You are looking for standard types of errors

  1. Hands lifted off iliac crest
  2. Opening eyes
  3. Step, stumble, or fall
  4. Moving hip into > 30 degrees abduction
  5. Lifting forefoot or heel
  6. Remaining out of test position > 5 sec
The maximum number of errors for any single test is 10.