University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center, based in Cleveland, Ohio, has begun recruiting high school athletes to participate in a new concussion study. Researchers at the Case Medical Center plan to determine whether supervised exercise can help speed recovery in patients suffering from persistent symptoms after a concussion. The study will attempt to quantify the positive benefits a carefully prescribed exercise regimen may have on mitigating or eliminating lingering symptoms such as headaches, difficulty sleeping, and problems with memory and cognition.
Concussion Study Hopes to Identify the Safe Levels of Exercise to Benefit Recovery
The new therapy regimen, named Subsymptom Threshold Exercise Protocol (STEP), will be conducted using a treadmill. The evaluation also hopes to determine a specific amount or duration of exercise an athlete might tolerate shortly after sustaining a concussion.
According to Christopher Bailey, a neuropsychologist with the UH Neurological Institute leading the study, current information indicates that exercising too soon following a concussion can strain an injured brain and may even intensify symptoms. However, the new evidence is suggesting that after an initial delay, a limited or controlled amount of exercise could actually expedite recovery in athletes who continue to suffer from symptoms weeks or even months after an injury.
Study will Compare Exercise Regimen Group to a Control Group Receiving Rest Only
Bailey explains that researchers and participants will be working closely with physical therapists to determine the precise exercise level at which symptoms are exacerbated. Then, they will reduce the amount of activity slightly in order to hopefully improve the athlete’s overall symptoms. The study will be conducted in multiple locations concurrently and focus on 40 high school athletes (subjects) during the first semester of the coming school year, primarily during football season. Exercise treated subjects will be compared against a control group receiving standard post-concussion care, which consists mainly of rest and no activity/exercise. Bailey hopes the pilot study’s data will be sufficient to support a much larger clinical trial in the near future.
Participants will be recruited for the study mainly by physician referral. For more information about the study, interested parties are invited to call 216-844-3422.
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