Early targeted heart rate aerobic exercise for sport-related concussion

Abstract

The highest prevalence of sport-related concussion is seen in adolescents aged 14–19 years, with an estimated 10% reporting a concussion each year in North America and an even higher prevalence in collision or contact sport participants. 1 Black AM Meeuwisse DW Eliason PH et al. Sport participation and injury rates in high school: a Canadian survey of 2029 high school students. J Safety Res. 2021; 78: 314-321 Crossref PubMed Scopus (1) Google Scholar Research suggests that many adolescents remain symptomatic for months after concussion. 2 Zemek R Barrowman N Freedman SB et al. Clinical risk score for persistent post-concussion symptoms among children with acute concussion in the ED. JAMA. 2016; 315: 1014-1025 Crossref PubMed Scopus (370) Google Scholar Evidence-informed sport-related concussion treatments are limited, and treatment options to prevent consequences of sport-related concussion and enable more rapid return to learning and sport are urgently needed. Early targeted heart rate aerobic exercise versus placebo stretching for sport-related concussion in adolescents: a randomised controlled trialThis multicentre study found that early treatment with subsymptom threshold aerobic exercise safely speeds recovery from sport-related concussion and reduces the risk for persistent post-concussive symptoms, an important result given the impact of delayed recovery on adolescent quality of life. Adherence was good and there were no adverse events from this non-pharmacological treatment. These results suggest that physicians should not only permit, but consider prescribing, early subsymptom threshold physical activity to adolescents as treatment for sport-related concussion and to reduce the risk of persistent post-concussive symptoms. Full-Text PDF