ImPACT Test: Advantages and DisAdvantages

ImPACT Test is a baseline test administered before and after an athlete receives a concussion. ImPACT Test evaluates the brain activity following a concussion and assist medical professionals with letting the athlete back to physical activity. Please comment based on your experience with ImPACT Test.


Advantages:

• ImPACT is a baseline test administered to all athletes before physical activity.
• ImPACT is available in fifteen different languages.
• ImPACT is a twenty minute test administered to schools, college sport teams, and professional sport teams.
• ImPACT test consist of three main parts a neuropsychological test, Post Concussion Symptom Scale, and demographic data.
• ImPACT is less expensive than a private neuropsychological test.

Disadvantages:

• Not all test administers are Medical Professionals. Coaches and Athletic Directors are able to administer the test after a short period of training.
• ImPACT test is a twenty minute test that determines if an athlete can return to play or not, this may be a disadvantage since it is not longer and more detailed.
• There are currently no guidelines for how often the baseline assessments should be updated. 
• There is also no computerized data documenting when the test is taken and should be retaken by the participant.
• There is still not a set standard of analyzing the information to tell whether or not the patient is concussed still or not and how long they should be out of physical activity.

(These are two videos that describe the significance of ImPACT Testing.)