Loading...
To help elucidate the optimal period for post-concussion rest, investigators randomized 99 children discharged from a single pediatric emergency department with concussion to usual care or strict rest. Usual care involved rest (defined by the treating physician) for 24 to 48 hours; strict rest involved 5 days of rest from school, work, and physical activity. After the rest period and once symptoms had resolved, patients in both groups started a stepwise return to physical activities.
Eighty-eight patients (median age, 14 years) completed the 10-day study. Both groups had a 20% decrease in energy expenditure and physical activity during the first 5 days, while the usual care group reported more total hours of high and moderate mental activity…