Research Finds That Exercise Can Alleviate Post-Concussion Syndrome

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Posted on 11th February 2010 by Gordon Johnson in Uncategorized

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The problem with all of the research on concussion being focused on young athletes is that it creates the illusion that concussion is always a transient injury. It is not. That young athletes show improvement with programs like discussed below doesn’t either tell us that they suffered no permanent damage, nor that someone older, in poorer physical shape might have significant disability. Keep that in mind when you read about the below study.

Special exercise and rest help young athletes recover according to research conducted at the University at Buffalo. http://www.ubspectrum.com/article/41203

Having a player rest three weeks after sustaining a concussion and developing a custom exercise routine for him or her that reduces the symptoms of post-concussion syndrome, according to the report published in the January Clinical Journal of Sports Research. http://journals.lww.com/cjsportsmed/Abstract/2010/01000/A_Preliminary_Study_of_Subsymptom_Threshold.4.aspx

It may take one or two weeks before symptoms of a concussion lessen, and during that period the patient would rest and perhaps take pain killers. But about 10 percent of those who have suffered a concussion have symptoms that can last more than three weeks or lead to permanent brain damage, conditions which are called post-concussion syndrome.

The UB researchers tested its subjects by having them do a standard exercise program on a treadmill, to determine what level of activity exacerbated concussion symptoms.

With this program, post-concussion symptoms lessened and in some cases even disappeared, according to the UB study. The exercise helped improve the auto regulation of cerebral blood flow, researcher believe, which is impacted by the post-concussion syndrome.

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