Evaluation of an active rehabilitation program for concussion management in children and adolescents

ABSTRACT

Objective: To estimate the extent to which post-concussion symptoms were influenced by participation in an Active Rehabilitation (AR) program (aerobic exercise, coordination drills, visualization and education) for children and adolescents who are slow to recover from concussion. A secondary exploratory objective included examining the influence of sex on symptom evolution.

Methods: Analysis of prospectively collected data was performed on 277 youth who initiated an AR program, between three and four weeks post-injury at a Concussion Clinic in a tertiary care paediatric teaching hospital.

Main outcome measure: Post-concussion symptom scale (PCSS) from Sport Concussion Assessment Tool-3 (SCAT 3).

Results: Children and adolescents participating in an active rehabilitation program displayed improved post-concussion symptom severity at follow-up (median = 9.5) compared to pre-intervention (median = 18) (p < .05). Patients demonstrated improved physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep-related post-concussion symptoms (p < .05). Female sex was associated with an increased post-concussion symptom severity at follow-up.

Conclusions: Youth experiencing persisting symptoms three to four weeks post-concussion demonstrated improved post-concussion symptoms scores (physical, cognitive, emotional and sleep related) with participation in an active rehabilitation program.

KEYWORDS:

• Brain concussion
• mild traumatic brain injury
• exercise therapy

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the children and their families for participating in this study and The Montreal Children’s Hospital Centre MTBI Program professionals for their support. They also wish to thank the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre for supporting this research.

Declaration of interest

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper.

Funding

The authors acknowledge funding from Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).

Additional information

Funding

The authors acknowledge funding from Fonds de recherche du Québec – Santé (FRQS) and Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).