Alabama residents with children may be interested to hear that not only do children recover from concussions in a longer time span than adults, but they may recover faster if they engage in fewer cognitive tasks during their recovery In a study led by a sports medicine researcher at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, it was determined that children are better off spending limited amounts of time doing homework, playing video games or surfing the Internet.
Researchers followed the progress of 335 people between the ages of 8 and 23, with an average age of 15, who were admitted to the Sports Concussion Clinic at Boston Children’s hospital due to a concussion. Patients’ progress was monitored, and every time that they visited the clinic, they were given questionnaires that asked about their level of cognitive activity.
There are several levels of cognitive activity, ranging from complete cognitive rest to full cognitive activity, and it was discovered that those with the highest levels of cognitive activity had the longest recovery times, an average of 100 days. Those who were put into the lowest three levels were able to recover from concussion symptoms between 20 and 50 days. Researchers concluded that engaging in actions that require focus and attention may slow down the recovery process.
When someone of any age suffers a concussion or any type of brain trauma, the long-term care costs can be enormous. In addition to symptoms that develop immediately, disorders may take years to show up. If someone has been injured and suffered brain trauma due to the actions of someone else, it may be possible for the injured party to file a claim in order to pursue compensation for medical costs and wages that were lost during treatment and recovery.
Source: CBS News, “Concussion recovery in kids may be slowed by homework, video games“, Ryan Jaslow, January 06, 2014
