Meta-analysis finds that aerobic exercise reduces symptom severity and shortens recovery time for adolescents following a concussion

A meta-analysis conducted by Xiaotian Shen et al. found that aerobic exercise reduces symptom severity and shortens recovery time in adolescents following a concussion. The study, published in World Neurosurgery, pooled the data of 230 adolescents (ages 12-19) from five different randomized controlled trials. They measured aerobic exercise’s effect by evaluating participants’ post-concussion symptom scale (PCSS) scores, time to recovery, and immediate post-concussion assessment and cognitive testing (ImPACT) scores.

Participants in the aerobic exercise group reported PCSS scores that were 6.51 points lower, on average, than the control group. The aerobic exercise group also recovered an average of 3.87 days faster than the control group. There was no difference in ImPACT scores between the two groups, suggesting that aerobic exercise may not improve neurocognitive function.

Neuropsychologist Dr. William Barr, Ph.D., proposed in a recent tweet that this lack of effect might be due to the low reliability of the ImPACT scale. Therefore, future studies might examine whether aerobic exercise significantly impacts neurocognitive function when measured with a more reliable scale. See Concussion Alliance’s page on Graduated Exercise Therapy for additional information.