Study: 20 minutes of aerobic exercise a day can speed recovery from concussion in teenagers
The severity of concussion symptoms varies greatly, ranging from mild headache, dizziness, and nausea to severe amnesia and coma, and may even cause subsequent changes such as cerebral hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and epidural hemorrhage. Typically, concussion patients are advised to stop activities, concentrate on rest, and observe physical changes. At the same time, it also reduces the brain’s ability to perform cognition and movement to avoid the possibility of inducing symptoms.
Does aerobic exercise positively help younger concussion patients? A new study recently published in the journal “The Lancet Child and Adolescent Health” believes that aerobic exercise training within the earliest 10 days of concussion symptoms in adolescents who suffer concussions in a sports environment may help speed up recovery. The risk of ongoing concussion symptoms is also reduced by 48%.
John J Leddy, professor of clinical orthopedics at the State University of New York at Buffalo (University at Buffalo), and his research team, based on the previous concussion clinical trial method published in “JAMA Pediatrics” in 2019, divided 118 adolescents aged 13 to 18 into In both groups, 61 people received aerobic threshold aerobic exercise, and the other 57 people performed stretching exercises that did not increase their heart rate. Members of both groups exercised for at least 20 minutes each day.
The study found that the median recovery time from concussion was 14 days for the aerobic training group and 19 days for the stretching group. Professor Leddy believes that judging from the results of this study, strict physical rest may not be the best way for adolescent patients until the concussion symptoms disappear automatically.
Because teenagers are the most vulnerable age group to concussion syndrome, they have the longest recovery times. Professor Leddy said that in order to help teenagers recover from concussions as quickly as possible, doctors should consider allowing such patients to engage in appropriate physical activities as early as possible.
John J Leddy and Barry S. Willer have been studying the impact of concussions on young athletes for many years. The relevant research they published in recent years has gradually changed the treatment guidelines for concussed athletes. These young concussion patients are no longer mandated to stop physical activity altogether.
Professor Leddy explained that the concept of this research is based on the exercise training methods of patients with heart disease. After determining whether the training intensity and heart rate adopted by the patients are below the safe threshold, it can also have the same health benefits for the brain as for the heart.
Professor Leddy said that the results showed that this non-drug method was safe and effective, shortening the recovery time of adolescent concussion patients and increasing their neuronal repair. However, Professor Leddy also reminded that for adults who suffer concussions during non-sports activities, aerobic exercise does not have such a significant effect on concussion recovery and usually needs to be used in combination with other therapies.
Source:
Aerobic exercise after a sport-related concussion speeds recovery in adolescent athletes
