In the recent years, people in medicine believed when a person got a concussion, they would have to put aside physical activity for a week and sit in a dark room, to reduce stress on the brain. But, new research has found that physical activity may decrease the chances of persistent post concussion symptoms in children and adolescents. A few examples of the persistent post concussion symptoms include persistent headaches, nausea and memory issues.
The research included 2,413 children and adolescents between 5 and 18 years of age; 30% rested for the first 7 days, and 70% participated in some sort of physical activity. Only 28.7% of those who participated in early physical activity reported persistent post concussive symptoms at day 28 compared with 40.1% of those who rested in the study. Although this study is newer, it is great news for concussion findings because it is another possible alternative to relieve concussion patients from their pain and could get them back to activity sooner.
There is however still the guideline in place, if a person would receive a concussion, they have a physical and mental rest period of 48-72 hours. This time frame is contingent with concussion diagnoses of your doctor. If you have signs or symptoms of a concussion or serious head injury, seek medical attention right away.
Here at our Windom Area Hospital Rehabilitation Services, we have two ImPACT certified rehab specialists, Terri Elder, MSPT and Mitch Boeck, DPT, to help you with each stage of a concussion. The rehabilitation department also does concussion screenings for free throughout the entire year. If you have any questions regarding concussions or want to make an appointment, call 507-831-0634.
To read more about this study, click HERE.
Reference:
American Physical Therapy Association. https://www.moveforwardpt.com/didyouknow/detail.aspx?cid=0fda213e-6095-4d7d-a726-54f5614650e9 accessed July 11, 2018.