Playing with sports concussion doubles recovery time: Study
Posted Sep 4, 2016 07:04:00 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Continuing to play despite a concussion doubles recovery time for teen athletes and leads to worse short-term mental function than in those immediately removed from action, a study found.
It’s billed as the first to compare recovery outcomes for athletes removed from a game or practice compared with those who aren’t.
Doctors found that teenagers who played for an additional 19 minutes took twice as long to recover, and had worse scores on mental function for up to a month after the injury.
Scott Haller owner of Shift Concussion in Guelph says this study is a good start.
“We clearly need to start compiling multiple research areas and bringing it together rather than just one particular study (…) future work will help us make a much more accurate decision.”
Haller adds there is still a grey area when it comes to diagnosing concussions and asking players a lot of questions is key.
‘Why not be a little bit more proactive on this (…) it’s always a wise move, if we have any doubt to just remove the player, let them have some time to rest, evaluate what they’re feeling. Why would we really want to risk if we don’t need to?”
The study was small, involving 69 teens treated at a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center concussion clinic, but the results bolster evidence supporting the growing number of return-to-play laws and policies nationwide
The study was published Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
