Young people with lingering concussion symptoms recovered faster with a coached, at-home aerobic exercise program than with a stretching program, according to a randomized trial in JAMA Pediatrics published on Oct. 19. The advantage showed up at three months but was gone by six months, and it was clearest in patients who started within three months of their injury.
For families, timing is the main message. Parents of a teen who is still foggy, headachy, or tired weeks after a hit may wonder whether to wait it out or start a structured plan, and these results suggest an earlier, supervised start may shorten the hardest stretch.
