Light Exercise Within 48 Hours of Concussion Associated with Faster Recovery

A new study by scientists at the University of Michigan  found people who did light exercise within 48 hours after a concussion saw their symptoms resolve in about half the time as those who waited more than a week to exercise. The findings add to a growing body of evidence against the current standard treatment known as &ldquo;cocoon therapy&rdquo;&mdash;bed rest in the dark with minimal mental stimulation after concussion. The study has been published in Sports Medicine.&nbsp;
The observational study looked at 1,228 collegiate student-athletes across 30 institutions before injury and at injury until medical clearance.&nbsp;The participants completed post-concussion assessments and were monitored over time. Symptom recovery (days from injury to symptom resolution) and clinical recovery (days from injury to return to play protocol completion) was determined by the student-athletes&rsquo; clinicians. The participants were categorized by timing of light exercise initiation. Early (&lt;&thinsp;2&nbsp;days post-concussion;&nbsp;n&thinsp;=&thinsp;161), typical (3&ndash;7&nbsp;days post-concussion;&nbsp;n&thinsp;=&thinsp;281), and late exercise (&ge;&thinsp;8&nbsp;days post-concussion;&nbsp;n&thinsp;=&thinsp;169) groups were compared with the no-exercise group (n&thinsp;=&thinsp;617; i.e., did not exercise prior to beginning the trial protocol).