Exercise following a sport-related concussion is safe and associated with faster recovery times, according to a study published in February in Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine.
Researchers from Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine studied 126 patients from Michigan NeuroSport, which provides neurological care for athletes. All patients came to the clinic within 30 days of receiving a concussion. The researchers compared patients who participated in supervised exercise within 16 days of their concussion with patients who did not exercise in the first 16 days.
They found the patients who exercised returned to their sport within 26.5 days after injury, on average, compared to 35.1 days for patients who did not exercise. There were no serious adverse events among patients who exercised after a concussion.
Most treatment guidelines recommend rest without exercise for athletes with concussions, but the new findings suggest exercise may be beneficial and even improve recovery times. This could be partly due to exercise's mental health benefits, said Michael Popovich, MD, a sports neurologist at Michigan NeuroSport and author on the study.
"Much of an athlete's life is defined by their sport," Dr. Popovich said. "Not addressing this psychological damage from a dramatic, prolonged lifestyle switch can create a systemic problem that prolongs concussion recovery."