Conditions & Treatments

Concussion - Treatments

Adequate rest.
It is important that your child avoids intense or long durations of reading, watching television, and using the phone or laptop. Talk to your child regularly and make sure they are not doing anything that makes their symptoms worse.

Timely return to school.
After the recommended rest by the doctor, your child can return to school. To ensure your child is ready to return to school, make sure your child can focus for the duration of a class period without causing symptoms to return.

Once your child is back in school, continue to talk to your child regularly and ask how they are tolerating school work. If they are unable to cope, you may wish to speak with the school administration about making any of the following adjustments:

Limiting your child’s course load
Shortening your child’s school day
Increasing rest time between classes

Gradual return to sport.
Once your child has fully returned to school, they should begin a gradual return to full contact sports. If your child incurs a second head injury before he or she fully recovers from concussion, it can result in a more serious injury.

The child should follow this five stage plan:

Stage 1:	Walking or stationary cycling at a slow or medium pace without any resistance
Stage 2:	Running drills without head impact
Stage 3:	More difficult, non-contact drills such as passing or shooting drills. May also resume resistance training.
Stage 4:	Full contact practice with close monitoring
Stage 5:	Return to normal play

Your child should not have any symptoms after each stage for at least a week before moving on to the next stage. Do not rush to the next stage if your child is not ready. If any symptom recurs, rest until the symptom resolves. The child may need to return to an earlier stage and scale up slowly again.

Studies have shown that a gradual return to play ensures a faster recovery for your child. They will be much safer when they return back to full contact play. If you would like any advice on how to carry this plan out, please approach your doctor or nurse for more information.

If your child has persistent complaints of headache, difficulty concentration, drowsiness or change in behaviour, please bring your child back to the Emergency Department.

Your child may be given follow-up to see Physiotherapist and Concussion clinic. It is important to attend the appointments. During the appointment, the following will be done: