Playing Through a Concussion Doubles Recovery Time
A new study suggests that teens who continue playing sports with concussions extend their recovery time.
FOX’s Jeff Monosso reports from Chicago:
Continuing to play despite a concussion doubles recovery time for teen athletes and leads to worse short-term mental function than in those immediately removed from action, that from a study in the Journal Pediatrics, billed as the first to compare recovery outcomes for athletes removed from a game or practice, compared with those who aren’t:
(Alben) “The athletes that removed themselves from the game took about 22 days to get back and receive full medical clearance, whereas athletes who admitted that they played through their injury and on average took 44 days to get better.”
University of Arkansas’s Doctor R.J. Alben, a principal author of the relatively small study involving only 69 teens, though with results that doctors say support the growing number of return-to-play laws and policies nationwide.
In Chicago, Jeff Monosso, FOX News.
