New Role for Biodex Balance System SD in Concussion Management

Aurora Sports Medicine Institute (ASMI), headquartered in Sheboygan, Wis, reports that it has begun to use the Biodex Balance System SD as an integrated approach to the management of concussion. The device’s treatment implications in concussion came as a new avenue for addressing the condition, according to Adam Brill (pictured right), TAC, LAT, ASMI athletic trainer. The decision to repurpose the device stemmed from the facility’s review of the Zurich Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport, which emphasizes that concussion management should be approached as a system rather than individual parts.

Brill notes that the goal for ASMI was to bring consistency, streamlining concussion management by taking a full system approach that included postural stability assessment. According to ASMI, the device had been used in the past primarily for physical therapy and rehabilitation. “It was like finding a hidden treasure, knowing that we had a balance assessment solution already in place and could now repurpose it for use in our concussion management program,” Brill explains. Brill adds that ASMI took 3 months to 4 months to fully research all of the components of its concussion program prior to putting any approach in place. The Biodex Balance System SD’s ability to offer users efficiency, results, and easy to read reports prompted the facility’s decision to move forward with it in its concussion management program, reports an ASMI news release.

Brill outlines the implementation of the device along with the portable BiodexSway system during evaluation, “The Balance System and BioSway have a CTSIB function which provides a sway index. There are four components for testing, we put the athlete on the balance platform on a firm surface with their eyes opened for 20 seconds, and then with their eyes closed for 20 seconds.” Following these steps, the athlete is asked to perform the same tasks once a 3-inch foam pad, [standard with the system] has been placed on the platform, allowing the system to measure all four complements of sway.

The device has reportedly helped enhance the ASMI Concussion Management Program, providing objective stats yielding from the neurophysical component that Biodex offers and eliminating any “guesswork,” during the baseline screening of athletes, Brill reports.