Light Exercise Program May Benefit PCS Patients

Researchers are pioneering a treatment program they say could help athletes with post-concussion syndrome (PCS) return to the playing field more quickly. A team of Canisius College investigators led by Assistant Professor of Kinesiology Karl Kozlowski, PhD, ATC, tested patients’ threshold for exercise, subsequently developing a regulated, low-level, 10-to-15- minute workout program for each patient. Each individual in the patient group was asked to keep track of their symptoms, and reported feeling better within 3 weeks. The researchers tailored new regimens and saw patients’ concussion symptoms were greatly reduced or entirely gone after several months of this routine. Post-concussion syndrome is defined as 3 or more concussion symptoms that persist at least 3 weeks after the injury was sustained. The investigators note that physicians typically prescribe physical and cognitive rest for patients suffering sports-related concussions, but are confident this new approach including gradual exercise rather than rest alone actually helps to restore the balance of the brain’s auto-regulation mechanism, which controls the blood pressure and supply to the brain. According to Kozlowski, he and his co-researchers initially sought to determine if athletes suffering from post-concussion syndrome could exercise at a level that wouldn’t bring out symptoms, but would allow them to maintain their conditioning while recovering. What the group found “indicates that the traditional recommended protocol following a concussion of prolonged rest might be inadequate after 7-to-10 days,” he says, adding that this protocol may “ultimately lead to the continuation and worsening of symptoms.” Primary care physicians “should recognize that the presence of prolonged symptoms following concussion may benefit from some low-level and closely monitored aerobic physical activity,” continues Kozlowski. “This is especially true when working with athletes.” —Mark McGraw