Please cite this article in press as: Schneiders AG, et al. Normative values for three clinical measures of motor performance used in the neurological assessment of sports concussion. J Sci Med Sport (2009), doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2009.05.004 ARTICLE IN PRESS JSAMS-447; No. of Pages 6 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport xxx (2009) xxx–xxx Original paper Normative values for three clinical measures of motor performance used in the neurological assessment of sports concussion Anthony G. Schneiders a,∗ , S. John Sullivan a , Andrew R. Gray b , Graeme D. Hammond-Tooke c , Paul R. McCrory d a Centre for Physiotherapy Research, University of Otago, New Zealand b Department of Preventive & Social Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand c Department of Medical & Surgical Sciences, University of Otago, New Zealand d Centre for Health, Exercise & Sports Medicine, University of Melbourne, Australia Received 21 September 2008; received in revised form 6 April 2009; accepted 8 May 2009 Abstract Postural control and motor coordination are essential components of normal athletic activity. Tasks involving balance and coordination are used to determine neurological function in sports-related concussion. Determining normative values for these tasks is therefore essential to provide sports medicine professionals with a frame of reference with which to interpret clinical measures obtained from players suspected of sustaining a concussion. One hundred and seventytwo healthy subjects (16–37 yrs) performed three timed tests: Tandem Gait (TG); Finger- to-Nose (FTN); Single-Leg-Stance (SLS) on firm and foam surfaces. Unadjusted geometric means (±SD) for each measure were averaged across three trials. Time to complete TG was 11.2 ± 1.2 s. FTN for the dominant and non-dominant arm were 2.9 ± 1.1 s and 3.0 ± 1.2 s, respectively. SLS values for dominant and non-dominant leg were 20.4 ± 3.0 s (firm), 3.4 ± 1.6 s (foam), and 21.0 ± 2.9 s (firm), 3.3 ± 1.6 s (foam), respectively. For TG, there was an order effect (P < .001) but no age, sex or BMI effects. FTN demonstrated a dominant arm preference (P < .001), sex (P = .006), BMI (P = .043) and order effects (P < .001). SLS demonstrated an order effect on the firm surface (P = .009) and an order (P < .001) and BMI (P = .001) effect on foam. Intra-rater reliability, as measured by ICC (3,3), demonstrated that TG and FTN had excellent reliability compared to SLS. FTN and TG should continue to be used in test batteries to determine neurological function in sports-related concussion. © 2009 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Normal values; Postural balance; Coordination impairment; Reliability; Time Postural control and motor coordination are essential for normal daily activities 1,2 and a crucial requirement for ath- letic events and activities. 3 Maintaining postural equilibrium requires the central nervous system to process and integrate afferent information from the somatosensory, visual, and vestibular systems and execute appropriate and coordinated musculoskeletal responses. 4 Impairments in postural control mechanisms, due to disease or injury, are termed postural instabilities and result in motor performance deficits includ- ing increased postural sway and poor coordination. 3,5 Motor performance tasks involving balance and coordi- nation are used to determine neurological function. 6 Static ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: tony.schneiders@otago.ac.nz (A.G. Schneiders). balance control, dynamic gait execution and upper limb coordination are assessed in individuals presenting with neu- rological dysfunction due to sports-related traumatic head injury, 7–9 where they are often included as standardised com- ponents of the screening process. Coordination is usually evaluated by observing the quality and speed of alternating repeated movements 1 and the Finger-to-Nose test (FTN) is one of the key components of the neurological examination used to assess this domain. 10 Balance tasks are also used as surrogate measures of motor performance. The most com- mon clinical uni-pedal balance task is the Single Leg Stance (SLS), which is often performed under varying conditions (e.g. firm/compliant surface, eyes open/closed) in order to challenge components of the sensory-feedback system. 11,12 Gait parameters are also used to determine neurological 1440-2440/$ – see front matter © 2009 Sports Medicine Australia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.jsams.2009.05.004