New research published in the journal recover from a concussion increases with each successive incident, more than doubling if just one prior concussion has been recorded.
Researchers examined data gathered over a 12-month period on 280 children and young adults between the ages of 11 and 22 that had been treated for a concussion at the Boston Children's Hospital, tracking their recovery for 12 weeks after their initial diagnosis. On average, first-time concussion sufferers required 12 days to recover. For those who had a history of one previous concussion, the recovery time jumped to 24 days; 36 days if more than one concussion had been suffered in the previous year.
New research published in the journal recover from a concussion increases with each successive incident, more than doubling if just one prior concussion has been recorded.
Researchers examined data gathered over a 12-month period on 280 children and young adults between the ages of 11 and 22 that had been treated for a concussion at the Boston Children's Hospital, tracking their recovery for 12 weeks after their initial diagnosis. On average, first-time concussion sufferers required 12 days to recover. For those who had a history of one previous concussion, the recovery time jumped to 24 days; 36 days if more than one concussion had been suffered in the previous year.
"We think that there's a window of time after the head injury in which the brain is more vulnerable to a second head injury," study leader Matthew Eisenberg told Reuters.
Children under the age of 13 recovered faster than older victims, and those who lost consciousness as a result of the concussion actually recovered faster than those who did not. "Most concussions that do not involve loss of consciousness are not immediately diagnosed," Sports Legacy Institute co-founder Chris Nowinski explained to Scientific American. "Therefore, the athletes often finish the game, causing additional injury to the brain prior to beginning physical and cognitive rest."
The results of the study put greater emphasis on the need for caution when determining how long an athlete needs to recover. Says Eisenberg, "There may be a subgroup of kids, particularly those who play contact sports who are at risk over the course of their adolescence - those are the ones we worry about."
The study wasn't perfect, Eisenberg admits, relying on self-reporting from participants to track when their symptoms dissipated. Results may therefore have been skewed by athletes eager to return to play or resume normal activity. Advancements in concussion tests, based on physical and neurological functions such as speech patterns or balance, have made it harder for athletes to cover up symptoms, and Eisenberg hopes to use a more reliable test to track victims' recoveries.
Moreover, there's the need for further follow up on victims' recoveries, long after the initial concussion symptoms have dissipated, says Eisenberg. "The big question that still needs to be answered is, what are the long-term effects of these concussions?"
In other concussion news:
...A study released last week in the journal Pediatrics by the University of Pittsburgh suggesting that fewer concussions are suffered in youth football practices than games is being questioned by noted concussion experts. "If you're going to compare concussion rates at practices versus games, you have to have the same degree of scrutiny at practices as at games," Sports Legacy Institute co-founder Robert Cantu told Scientific American. "There's nobody at practice other than the coaches, and we don't know if they know what a concussion is or not, and they can't make the diagnosis."
...Researchers from the University of Alberta pitted CFL players' concussion knowledge against university-level players in a recent study, testing them before and after a one-hour education session. After the session, all of the participating CFL players identified the importance of seeking medical attention for a concussion compared to just 67 percent of college-level players. However, 44 percent of pro players incorrectly believed that it was okay to return to play in 24 to 48 hours if no symptoms were present, compared to only 26 percent of college athletes. The two most important takeaways both groups took from the education session: Concussions can be caused by a hit to any part of the body, not necessarily the head, and MRI and CT imaging aren't infallible when it comes to detecting concussions.
...A second study by researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Montefiore Medical Center not only confirmed previous reports that frequent heading of soccer balls can lead to brain injury, but that it also puts athletes as a greater risk for memory and cognitive problems. Soccer players head a ball 12 times on average during a game, and as many as 30 times during a practice session. "We studied soccer players because soccer is the world's most popular sport," medical director Michael L. Lipton explained. "Soccer is widely played by people of all ages and there is concern that heading the ball - a key component of the sport - might damage the brain."
