Original ArticleEfficacy of Immediate and Delayed Cognitive and Physical Rest for Treatment of Sports-Related Concussion
Section snippets
Methods
Participants were 49 high school to college-aged individuals (range = 14-23 years; mean = 15.0, SD = 2.58) who sustained a concussion and were referred to the Sports Concussion Center of New Jersey (SCCNJ) for assessment and management between April 2010 and September 2011. Diagnosis of having sustained a concussion was consistent with the consensus definition.5 All participants were prescribed at least 1 week of cognitive and physical rest as treatment. Participants were not equally
Results
There were no between-groups differences with respect to age (P = .36), sex (P = .09), history of concussion (P = .11), or diagnosis of attention deficit disorder/learning disorder (P = .22) (Table I).
Mixed-factorial design MANOVA revealed a significant multivariate effect of prescribed rest on cognitive function and symptoms [F(5,42) = 10.63; P = .001] with no effect of time elapsed since concussion noted [F(10,86) = 1.02; P = .44]. Significant effects were noted on all 4 ImPACT composite
Discussion
A period of prescribed cognitive and physical rest is often applied as an immediate treatment for sports concussion, even though there is no empirical evidence to support such treatment. Health care professionals have been typically guided by their own judgment, as well as by position statements and policies of professional groups, in the treatment of sports concussion.5, 19, 20 Without evidence to support the case for rest, especially when weeks or months have passed since the injury,
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The authors declare no conflicts of interest.