While for the last 10 years or so, there has been a general view among doctors and health experts in the US that people who suffer concussion should give their brains a rest while they recover, until now there has not been much firm evidence to back it up.
For instance, in October 2013, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a clinical report that suggested students may need a break from school after concussion. In that report, which was based on expert opinion and a concussion management program at a children's hospital, the AAP called for more research to establish the effects of cognitive rest following concussion and how best to help students recovering from it.
Now a new study from Boston Children's Hospital, published recently in the journal Pediatrics, appears to have done just that. Senior author Dr. William Meehan of the hospital's Division of Sports Medicine explains:
"We believe this is the first study showing the independent, beneficial effect of limiting cognitive activity on recovery from concussion. Previously, the lack of such data has led to varied practice with regards to implementing cognitive rest, making it even controversial."
The effect of cognitive rest on concussion recovery in student athletes
For their prospective cohort study, Dr. Meehan and colleagues enrolled 335 teen athletes diagnosed with concussion who were treated at Boston Children's Concussion Clinic between October 2009 and July 2011.
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