Children, youth take longer to fully recover from concussion

Public Release: 16-May-2016
Children, youth take longer to fully recover from concussion: York U study
The latest York U concussion research studied the prolonged difficulty in cognitive-motor integration in 50 children and adolescents with a history of concussion
York University

York University concussion experts report that children and youth take longer to fully recover from a concussion than previously thought.

After a concussion, young athletes usually rejoin their teams in a few weeks if they do not have any active symptoms. However, it might take up to two years to fully recover from the injury before they can play as skillfully as their teammates with no history of concussion, according Professor Lauren Sergio in the Faculty of Health.

"Performing motor tasks, guided by what we see, is crucial in skill-based activities such as sports," says Sergio. "But the current return to sport assessment doesn't test to see if the injured person has regained this ability. Because of this often children and youth who have had a concussion end up returning to normal activities before they are fully recovered. We believe this makes them more vulnerable to another concussion."

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