“‘Cocooning’ is officially out and early , proactive advice and treatment are in . It is no longer acceptable for clinicians to tell athletes after concussion to rest from all cognitive and physical activity "
Prescribed Exercise After Sport-Related Concussion Promotes Recovery
“‘Cocooning’ is officially out and early , proactive advice and treatment are in . It is no longer acceptable for clinicians to tell athletes after concussion to rest from all cognitive and physical activity "
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Prescribed aerobic exercise after a sport-related concussion speeds recovery , according to a systematic review and meta-analysis led by UB researchers and published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine .
The UB paper is part of a special issue of the journal devoted to new scientific evidence and updated recommendations from the 6th International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Amsterdam last fall . Released earlier this week , the new guidelines govern concussion management at the high school and college level , and throughout professional sports worldwide .
It is the first time that the Concussion in Sport Group is recommending that individuals who have had a sport-related concussion engage in physical activity , including prescribed aerobic exercise treatment , in the early days after concussion while still symptomatic .
John J . Leddy , clinical professor of orthopedics in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences , is first author on the paper that examined rest and exercise immediately following a concussion . He also is a physician with UBMD Orthopedics & Sports Medicine .
For more than two decades , Leddy and colleague and co-author Barry Willer , professor of psychiatry in the Jacobs School , have been developing and studying prescribed aerobic exercise to speed recovery in individuals who ’ ve had a concussion .
“ Early in their research , Dr . Leddy and Dr . Willer realized that prescribed exercise could benefit individuals who experienced a sport-related concussion ,” says Allison Brashear , vice president for health sciences and dean of the Jacobs School . “ For clinician-researchers like them , there is nothing more gratifying than seeing their investigator-driven studies unequivocally impact the international standard of care .”
Through randomized clinical trials published in top journals , their method , known as the Buffalo Protocol , has been shown to not only facilitate faster recovery from sport-related concussion but , importantly , to prevent persisting post-concussive symptoms ( PPCS ) primarily in adolescents , the most vulnerable group . This regimen of prescribed exercise after a sport-related concussion is designed to be performed at the sub-symptom threshold heart rate identified on systematic exercise testing , meaning a level of exercise that doesn ’ t more than mildly exacerbate symptoms .