Nutrition as Medicine to Improve Outcomes in Adolescents Sustaining a Sports-related Concussion

Abstract

Recognition and diagnosis of sports-related concussion (SRC) among adolescents has significantly increased. In, fact, among high school adolescents, SRC incidence has more than doubled from 2007 to 2014, with recent estimates at approximately 2 per 100 athletes. SRC-related research has also increased; recognition of symptoms that may prolong recovery have been examined, potential biomarkers have been scrutinized, return-to-learn and return-to-play protocols have been developed and honed. However, to date, clinicians and researchers have struggled to find effective interventions to mitigate the significant symptoms after SRC and shorten recovery times. Despite the understood role of the brain as the primary regulator of metabolism, and the well-established metabolic impairments evoked after a concussion, nutrition is often ignored as a core complement to the recovery and rehabilitation process. In this article, we will identify deficiencies and/or inadequacies in nutrients post-concussion and provide support for potential exacerbation of injury and delayed recovery due to inadequate intake of nutrients prior to sustaining an SRC. Additionally, we will discuss the effect of derangement of the metabolic cascade post-concussion, and identify key nutrients, that if supplemented immediately post-injury, could increase neuroprotection, and improve recovery outcomes. Animal and cell culture studies have provided substantial evidence for not only the interrelationship of nutrient adequacy and the adaptation in the metabolic cascade post-concussion on neuroprotection, but also key nutrients that if supplemented immediately post-injury could enhance standard of care with minimal risk.