Light exercise after concussion in kids, teens may halt prolonged symptoms: study
TORONTO — Getting physical exercise within a week of suffering a concussion may reduce a young person’s risk of experiencing ongoing symptoms, say researchers, whose finding runs counter to conventional guidelines calling for strict mental and physical rest following the common brain injury.
“Exercise is probably a good medicine,” said Dr. Roger Zemek of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario, who led the study of Canadian children and teens conducted at nine pediatric hospitals across the country.
Those who said they resumed light to moderate activity soon after a concussion — such as walking, swimming and stationary cycling — were found to be less likely to have such symptoms as nausea, headaches and dizziness a month later.
Exercise increases blood flow to the brain and could help speed up healing and improve cognitive function, which is often altered as the result of a concussion, researchers said.