Concussion
Taking an Active Approach to Sports-related Concussion
Sport and Exercise Physician
Published
October 20, 2017
Sport and Exercise Physician
Published
October 20, 2017
Since launching in 2017, Axis has seen hundreds of new sports-related concussion patients walk through its doors. With a specific focus on concussion that has occurred within a two-week timeframe, our clinic has a collaborative approach – physical and physiological - for the acute assessment and management of injuries, referencing over a decade of major advances in evaluation and unique treatment protocols.
Past studies have been plentiful but knowledge gaps have remained. The Berlin Concussion Statement highlighted key findings which has shifted attitudes towards management options, and we eagerly await the Amsterdam update,likely to be published in BJSM next month.
Sports-related concussion has many complexities – making it difficult to diagnose, assess and manage. However, the data we’ve already collected from our new sports-related concussion patients, has opened doors for further study on prognostic indicators and streamlined our management into areas that make a difference.
What we understand more of now, is the role exercise plays in the management of a symptomatic patient – it has altered the ‘rest is best’ anecdote of old. We know – thanks to accumulative research – that psychological factors have a huge role to play in symptom recovery – mood and behavioural patterns. We also know that careful management of the upper cervical spine and vestibular systems is critical to patient recovery and limiting concurrent injury.
Based on our published work, 45% of patients improve within 2 weeks of injury, 77% of patients improve within 4 weeks of injury and 94% of patients within 8 weeks with active rehabilitation. A delay of 1 day to accessing the appropriate care and rehabilitation will add 1.5 onto recovery. Therefore early management with education and active rehabilitation will aid return to learn, return to work and return to sport.
The importance of cognitive load priority for education, above non-educational use of electronic devices, is also a constant theme delivered to patients – and is often met with a sigh of relief from frustrated parents.
How this works is patients are presented with a graduated return-to-play schedule – with a time difference based on their age – and factors a progression from heart rate increase, to movement, to skills-based exercise requiring coordination and increased cognition.
Taking an active rehabilitation approach with patients who are still symptomatic at two weeks post-injury is also a key focus for us. This involves patients undergoing a modified Balke treadmill-based testing regimen and cervico-vestibular screening as part of their individual treatment plan.
Current studies have highlighted the effectiveness of cervico-rehabilitation in patients with post-concussion syndrome. For example, a recent randomised controlled trial with 15 post-concussion patients in each arm, revealed individuals in the treatment group were 3.91 times (95%CI 1.34 to 11.34) more likely to be medically cleared by eight weeks.
References: Schneider K, Meeuwisse W, Nettel-Aguirre A, et al. Cervicovestibular rehabilitation in sport-related concussion: a randomised controlled trial Br J Sports Med 2014;48:1294-8.
