Children with concussion are less likely to reach optimal functioning at six and 18 months than peers with orthopedic injuries or typical development.
Full Recovery After a Child’ s Concussion May Take Longer Than Previously Thought
Children with concussion are less likely to reach optimal functioning at six and 18 months than peers with orthopedic injuries or typical development.
7
Concussion affects millions of children annually, leading to physical, cognitive, sleep, and emotional symptoms which can impact academic and psychological functioning and reduce quality of life. Most children return to pre-injury optimal functioning levels within four weeks of injury, with approximately 30 % of children experiencing persistent symptoms beyond that timeframe. Optimal functioning is poorly defined, and little is known of what contributes to good recovery.
Previous research has applied varied criteria for assessing recovery, making comparisons difficult. In one approach, wellness was defined as absence of symptoms combined with above-average quality of life.
Using this framework, only 41.5 % of children met wellness criteria four weeks after concussion, rising to 52.2 % at 12 weeks. A similar analysis in younger children showed fewer with concussion met optimal functioning benchmarks over six and 18 months when compared with children who had orthopedic injuries or typical development.