Abstract: There has been a recent increase in the attention of concussions in the media and research world. One of the major factors that contribute to injuries including concussion is fatigue. This study has been designed to allow athletic trainers to decipher whether a potential balance insufficiency in an acutely concussed athlete is due to fatigue or the side effects of the concussion on postural stability. The study examined 30 college-aged athletes from a multitude of sports who had either sustained a concussion or never had a concussion. Participants were randomly grouped into one of three groups: non-concussed control group, non-concussed treatment group, or a concussed treatment group. The participants completed a pretest of the Balance Error Scoring System (BESS) followed three days later by a fatigue protocol for those in the treatment groups and finished by completing a posttest BESS. The fatigue protocol is a seven station circuit program that has been utilized in past research studies using the Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale to measure fatigue. The results showed no significant difference in BESS scores from the pretest to posttest in any of the sample groups. There was a significant difference (p=.000) in RPE scores between the two treatment groups and the control group. These results indicate there was significant fatigue induced for the BESS posttest in the treatment groups. However, fatigue did not appear to influence the BESS test for either non-concussed or concussed participants.
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