Conservative Concussion Management in Youth Athletes Can Avoid Increased Injury Rates After Return to Sport: Initial
Sarah N Adams1, Nicole M Mueske2, Mia J Katzel2
1University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine, Los Angeles, California.
Objective:
To evaluate whether injury rates are elevated after return to sport after concussion clearance in youth athletes and examine differences between concussed athletes who sustain injury after return to play and those who remain uninjured.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Setting:
Large metropolitan hospital.
Participants:
Twenty-four youth athletes cleared for return to play after a concussion and 84 pediatric athletes without concussion.
Independent Variables/Interventions:
Concussion (with return to play clearance) versus no concussion; age, sex, hours of sleep, and sports participation.
Main Outcome Measures:
Injury for a 12-week period.
Results:
Injury rates were similar between the concussed (5/24 = 21%) and nonconcussed (15/84 = 18%) athletes (P = 0.77). Within the concussion group, there was no significant difference between the noninjured and injured participants in time to return to play, time from concussion to initial evaluation, age, sex, hours of sleep per night, or hours of sports participation per week (P ≥ 0.19). The median time to clearance for the concussed athletes was 34 (range: 18-61) days.
Conclusions:
This study provides preliminary evidence suggesting that when current guidelines for return to play are followed, concussed pediatric athletes can resume activity without facing an elevated risk of injury. Time to achieve clearance in pediatric and adolescent athletes can be expected to be longer than the 7 to 14 days typical for older athletes.
