Contrary to popular belief, rest may not at all times be one of the best cure after a concussion, recent study published in JAMA Network Open finds. The truth is, an early return to high school could also be related to a lower symptom burden after suffering a concussion and, ultimately, faster recovery.

“We all know that absence from school will be detrimental to youth in some ways and for a lot of reasons,” says Christopher Vaughan, Psy.D., neuropsychologist at Kid’s National Hospital and the study’s lead writer. “The outcomes of this study found that, normally, an earlier return to high school after a concussion was related to higher outcomes. This helps us feel reassured that returning to some normal activities after a concussion – like going to high school – is ultimately useful.”

On this cohort study, data from over 1,600 youth aged 5 to 18 were collected across nine pediatric emergency departments in Canada. Due to the large sample size, many aspects related to greater symptom burden and prolonged recovery were first accounted for through the complex statistical approach used to look at the info. The authors found that an early return to high school was related to a lower symptom burden 14 days post-injury within the 8 to 12 and 13 to 18-year-old age groups.

“Clinicians can now confidently inform families that missing at the very least some school after a concussion is common, often between 2 and 5 days, with older kids typically missing more school,” Dr. Vaughan says. “But the sooner a baby can return to high school with good symptom management strategies and with appropriate academic supports, the higher that we predict that their recovery shall be.”

The findings suggest that there could possibly be a mechanism of therapeutic profit to the early return to high school. This could possibly be attributable to:

• Socialization (or avoiding the deleterious effects of isolation).
• Reduced stress from not missing an excessive amount of school.
• Maintaining or returning to a traditional sleep/wake schedule.
• Returning to light-to-moderate physical activity sooner (also consistent with previous literature).

Kid’s National has been a pacesetter in clinical services and research for youth with concussion, most notably through its Protected Concussion End result Recovery & Education (SCORE) Program. Given the multitude of other aspects that will be expected to influence when a baby returns to high school after a concussion – including injury severity, specific symptoms, and pre-injury aspects – a big sample size and sophisticated statistical analytic approach was required. Future randomized clinical trials and other research will help determine one of the best timing for a student to return to high school after suffering a concussion.

Source:

Kid’s National Hospital