Key points:
- A new study shows an early return to school post-concussion, even if symptoms persist, is associated with greater recovery.
- The greatest recovery benefit was seen in the most symptomatic children who went back to school two days post-concussion, regardless.
- The researchers say socialization and maintaining a regular wake/sleep schedule may be providing the therapeutic benefit.
Allowing children to get back to school and engaging in non-contact physical activity 72 hours after a concussion episode can aid with faster recovery, according to a new study published in JAMA Network Open.
The recent study is a sub-study stemming from the largest prospective pediatric concussion cohort study in Canada, with over 3,000 youth aged 5 to 18 across nine pediatric emergency departments.
In this sub-study, the investigators 1,600 children across two groups: those who returned to school less than two days post-concussion, and those who remained home for longer. The authors discovered that an early return to school was associated with better recovery at two weeks post-concussion. And, surprisingly, the researchers say the benefit was the greatest those who were most symptomatic, even at two days.
Overall, those who returned to school less than two days following the concussion had a better and faster recovery.
The researchers, from Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute (CHEO), say their findings suggest that there could be a mechanism of therapeutic benefit to the early return to school, including:
- Early socialization,
- Reduced stress from not missing too much school,
- Maintaining or returning to a regular sleep/wake schedule,
- Returning to safe light-to-moderate physical activity sooner.
“As a pediatric emergency physician who treats hundreds of youths with new and persistent concussion symptoms, I see far too many kids who are told to avoid school until they are symptom-free which can cause more harm and delay the recovery process,” said Roger Zemek, Senior Scientist at the CHEO Research Institute and senior author of the study. “The results of this study provide strong evidence that an early return to school is associated with better outcomes.”
Due to other factors that can be expected when a child returns to school, including injury severity, the researchers state that future clinical trials and more research can help determine each individual’s optimal timing to engage in physical activities.