Study: Total rest yields big post-concussion benefits
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2012, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
TAKING a week off from nearly all mental and physical activity - including television, talking on the phone and visiting friends - was linked with improved mental performance and fewer symptoms in people who had suffered a concussion, a study said.
A week of total rest still had benefits even months after the injury, according to a report in the Journal of Pediatrics.
"That's really important because very often we see patients with post-concussion syndrome months after" their injury, said Rosemarie Moser, director of the Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey in the United States and lead author of the study.
Post-concussion syndrome involves headaches, mental fogginess, fatigue and difficulty concentrating or sleeping, among other symptoms.
Typically, rest is the main treatment, Moser said, but it's not systematic or comprehensive and varies according to how the different practitioners define rest. Moser's group ordered 49 high school and college-age patients to rest for a full week. The prescription was strict: they could not go to school or work, talk on the phone, watch TV, socialize or work at a computer.
Fourteen of the patients started the rest within a week of their injuries. Another 22 patients began resting within a month of the concussion, and 13 patients began the week of rest between one and seven months after the concussion.
At the beginning, all of the patients had concussion-related symptoms, such as headaches and trouble concentrating - but all saw improvement after the week of rest. Athletes who began the rest within a week of their concussion saw their symptoms fall from a score of 22 on a 132-point scale, to seven. Those who began their rest more than a month out saw symptoms drop from 28 to 8.
A week of total rest still had benefits even months after the injury, according to a report in the Journal of Pediatrics.
"That's really important because very often we see patients with post-concussion syndrome months after" their injury, said Rosemarie Moser, director of the Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey in the United States and lead author of the study.
Post-concussion syndrome involves headaches, mental fogginess, fatigue and difficulty concentrating or sleeping, among other symptoms.
Typically, rest is the main treatment, Moser said, but it's not systematic or comprehensive and varies according to how the different practitioners define rest. Moser's group ordered 49 high school and college-age patients to rest for a full week. The prescription was strict: they could not go to school or work, talk on the phone, watch TV, socialize or work at a computer.
Fourteen of the patients started the rest within a week of their injuries. Another 22 patients began resting within a month of the concussion, and 13 patients began the week of rest between one and seven months after the concussion.
At the beginning, all of the patients had concussion-related symptoms, such as headaches and trouble concentrating - but all saw improvement after the week of rest. Athletes who began the rest within a week of their concussion saw their symptoms fall from a score of 22 on a 132-point scale, to seven. Those who began their rest more than a month out saw symptoms drop from 28 to 8.
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