Is prolonged rest the best medicine for concussion?

A new study suggests that the common perception that strict rest is best for concussed patients is not only inaccurate, but that prolonged rest may actually be harmful.

Concussions account for more than 10% of all sport-related injuries among high school athletes. Over the past 10 years, emergency department visits for sports-related traumatic brain injury have increased by more than 60%.

The majority of these patients, note the authors of the new study – which is published in the journal Pediatrics – were simply instructed to rest following their diagnosis of concussion.

This instruction is in keeping with current guidelines, which recommend that patients with concussion should submit themselves to cognitive and physical rest until the acute symptoms are resolved.

The main motivation for recommending prolonged rest is to avoid re-injury occurring while the patient is recovering. However, the evidence supporting this guideline is considered by many critics to be sparse…………. see more at :- http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287585.php