Starting physical activity three days post-concussion is safe, has
better outcomes, study suggests

Date:
January 26, 2022
Source:
University of Ottawa
Summary:
Resuming non-contact physical activity 72 hours after a concussion
is safe, and may also reduce symptoms and the risk of delayed
recovery, suggests the first and largest real-world, randomized
clinical trial on the topic to be conducted with children and
youth aged 10 to 18.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Resuming non-contact physical activity 72 hours after a concussion is
safe, and may also reduce symptoms and the risk of delayed recovery,
suggests the first and largest real-world, randomized clinical trial on
the topic to be conducted with children and youth aged 10 to 18.


==========================================================================
Led by researchers at the CHEO Research Institute, the multi-site study
was published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine, the world's
leading journal in the field. Previous randomized clinical trials have
been smaller in nature, conducted in the lab or only used a sport-related population.

"The findings of this study should give every health-care professional
who manages kids with concussions the confidence to prescribe early and controlled return to physical activity, even if they have symptoms," said Andre'e-Anne Ledoux, the study's corresponding author and a scientist
at the CHEO Research Institute, a pediatric health-care and research
centre in Ottawa, Canada.

"The study confirms that early return to physical activity is safe, can
reduce concussion symptoms and reduces the rate of delayed recovery,"
added Ledoux, who is also an assistant professor at the University of
Ottawa. "Gone are the days of resting in a dark room." Called PedCARE,
the clinical trial divided 456 participants into two groups.

One group rested until symptom resolution after their concussion and the
second group started to re-introduce physical activity 72 hours after
the concussion, according to a set protocol. They regularly answered
a standard survey about their symptoms and their activity levels were
recorded using an accelerometer.

At two weeks, symptoms were comparable between both groups, which means
that early physical activity was not harmful. When examining results
of everyone who stayed within the prescribed level of activity, those
who re-introduced physical activity early showed improved symptoms and
a reduced rate of delayed recovery, when compared to those who rested
until they were symptom free.

The study sets out guidelines for gradually introducing physical activity
back into the daily routine of a child or youth. For example, at 72
hours after the injury, the youth should start walking for 15 minutes at
a moderate level. If symptoms are tolerable the youth should increase
their physical activity intensity the next day, for example, light
jogging. If symptoms are not tolerable while doing physical activity or
after physical activity, the next day the child or youth should return
to the last well-tolerated physical activity intensity and re-attempt progression after 24 hours. They must be cleared by their primary care
provider before returning to contact sports.

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dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Ottawa. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


==========================================================================


Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/01/220126165529.htm

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