Future Advances and Areas of Future Focus in the Treatment of Sport-Related Concussion

Abstract

The occurrence and management of sports concussion provokes more debate and concern than virtually all other sports injuries combined. In the past 3 decades, clinicians have gone from mostly anecdotal strategies to an international consensus-based approach and the early evolution of evidence-based practice. There is increasing engagement by mainstream neuroscientists in this field, which had previously been dominated by sports team physicians. However, the interchange has largely taken place in the media rather than through scientific journals. Legislators have proposed regulatory measures that restrict medical management of concussion in ways that apply to no other medical condition. This paper examines some of the key areas that are likely to be the focus of research in the next few years.