Citation

Hutchinson M, Comper P, Csenge B, Richards D. Br. J. Sports Med. 2014; 48(7): 610.

Affiliation

Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/bjsports-2014-093494.136

PMID

24620177

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Most of what we know about concussions has been generated from research findings with adult subjects (i.e., athletes with uncomplicated, first concussions achieve full recovery within 7 to 14 days). Emerging research suggests that younger athletes may take longer to recover from concussion than their older counterparts. However, there is little evidence that quantifies the recovery-from-concussion process in younger athletes. OBJECTIVE: To describe recovery time and the contribution of pre-existing psychosocial and learning disabilities in concussion recovery in a population of high school students. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review (January 2012-June 2013) of concussions where there was a documented medical clearance date to return to sport or physical activity. SETTING: Sport medicine clinic. All concussions included occurred in subjects attending an all-boys' high school. PARTICIPANTS: 106 sport-related concussions were identified by chart review. 84 of the charts reviewed had definitive medical clearance dates. Of these, 33 (39%) of the students were identified with at least one of the following pre-existing conditions (PEC): Anxiety, Depression, ADHD, or Learning Disability. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Days to medical clearance. RESULTS: Students were medically cleared to return to play on average 38 days following concussion (range 4-243 days). Significant differences were identified between the group of students with PEC and the group without PEC. Specifically, Wilcoxon Rank-Sum tests (due to non-normal distributions) identified that the PEC group had significantly longer recovery times compared to those students with PEC (P=.03). CONCLUSIONS: High school students with concussions returned to full activity well beyond the currently accepted "normal recovery" period of 7-14 days in adults. In addition, pre-existing psychosocial and/or learning disabilities resulted in significantly longer recovery times. This information is clinically useful in post-concussive recovery assessment and education of patients and the team supporting their recovery.

Language: en