Concussions in Children and Teens: Conservative Approach Recommended

All of the recent consensus statements on sport-related concussions recommend a more conservative approach to concussion management for athletes under the age 18 than for older athletes:

1. Third International Conference on Concussion in Sport, Zurich 2008:¹

   • No same day RTP:  The Zurich statement concludes that it is "not appropriate" for athletes under the age of 18 to return to play on the day of injury regardless of the level of athletic performance and even if the resources (e.g. access to neuropsychologists, consultants, neuroimaging) are the same as for an older, professional athlete. 

   • More conservative RTP approach: the Zurich statement recommends that, in general, a more conservative return to play approach apply than for adults, including extending the physical and cognitive rest period and/or the length of time an athlete takes to complete the stepwise return to play exercise program.

2. The National Athletic Trainers' Association 2004 Position Statement: Management of Sport-Related Concussion² recommends that "special consideration must be given to the young athlete," that perhaps they should be restricted from further participation on the day of injury, and that "additional consideration should be given as to when to return these individuals to activity" based on the fact that: 
   

   • The brain of the young athlete is still developing and the effects of concussion on the developing brain are not yet completely understood

   • Even subtle damage can lead to learning deficits adversely affecting development

   • Age-related differences exist between high school and collegiate athletes in terms of rate of recovery, with slower resolution of self-reported symptoms for high school athletes.

   • Concussed high school athletes demonstrated prolonged memory dysfunction, and performed significantly worse on select memory tests than age-matched control subjects at 7 days post-injury compared to college athletes in a 2003 study.

   • Sport-related head injury has a relatively high incidence rate and is a significant public health concern in youth athletes in general, not just participants at higher competitive levels.

3. The American College of Sports Medicine's 2006 Consensus Statement on Concussion (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury) and the Team Physician³ recognizes age as a factor in return-to-play decisions because "the developing brain may react differently to trauma than [a] mature brain."

Return-to-play guidelines for young athletes need to be especially conservative given recent research by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center as part of an NFL project to study recovery from concussions showing that professional football players recover from concussions faster than high school players. A majority of NFL players tested were back to their pre-season score levels within a week of injury, compared to a majority of the high school players, who still had substantial deficits in reaction times and verbal memory skills seven days after suffering a concussion.

Based on numerous studies showing that brain connections and growth aren't complete until a person reaches his mid-20's, researchers speculate that high school athletes' brains may be slower to recover from concussions than pro players because their brains have not fully matured. 

1. Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport: the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008.  Br. J. Sports Med. 20090: 43:i76-i84.
2. Guskiewicz, Kevin, et al. "National Athletic Trainers' Association Position Statement: Management of Sport-Related Concussion," Journal of Athletic Training, 2004; 39(3): 280-297.
3. American College of Sports Medicine's 2006 Consensus Statement on Concussion (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury) and the Team Physician.