If you have a headache you shouldn’t be at school!
Listen to your doctor…your brain needs to rest.
You shouldn’t go to school unless you can be at home without a headache.
You shoudn’t even think about cheerleading until you can be at school without a headache.
If you ahve a headache now at school, tell your parents and school nurse asap.
Tell your doctor.
Your brain needs to rest!
It is important to let your brain heal because if you get another concussion you can get secondary concussion synrome which can be catastrophic.
INITIAL STEPS
After an initial concussion the individual should subscribe to REST, not just physical rest, but COMPLETE and UTTER rest.
NO TV
NO Texting
NO Computers
NO Radio
NO Bright Lights
NO Loud Noises
NO Reading
COMPLETE brain rest, in other words, SLEEP!
SCHOOL AGED INDIVIDUALS
Rest should be continued until all signs and symptoms have resolved. Rest in this demographic should and would include exclusion from school. When trying to learn the brain is working, thus not resting. Even if the kid went to school the bright lights, the loud noises and the exercise the brain needs to just navigate the hallways is enough to impede progress in resolving this injury. As a reminder, it may be good to take the cell phone, computer and video game systems from the kids. They should return to school when all signs and symptoms have resolved.
RETURN TO ACTIVITY (including Physical Education)
Current graded return to play guidelines for athletes that have sustained a concussion. This particular model was adapted from the 3rd International Conference on Concussions held in Zürich in 2008, and I have since modified adding one step.
No activity, only complete rest, proceed to step two only when symptoms are gone.
Return to school/academics (1/2 day at first), again no moving on until a full day of school can be completed.
Light aerobic exercise such as walking or stationary cycling. Monitor for symptoms and signs. No resistance training or weight lifting.
Sport – specific activities and training (eg. skating in hockey). No contact or risk of contact.
Drills without body contact. May add light resistance training and then progress to heavy weights. The time needed to progress from non-contact to contact exercise will vary with the severity of the concussion and player.
Begin drills with body contact.
Game play.
As stated above each step should be only attempted if there is NO signs or symptoms as they relate to the concussion.
Guidelines for Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Persistent Symptoms – ONF
Consensus Statement on Concussions in Sport from Zurich, 2012, 4th International Conference on Concussion in Sport
It is also important to realize that a concussion or head injury, in general, will not resolve in a typical linear fashion. Meaning that “on day one you have this and by day 7 you should be here,” as is common with other general orthopedic injuries.
The head is mysterious and responds differently for each individual person. Set-backs will be common and should be expected. When they do occur you should regress to the previous step in this process and begin again.
The general rule of thumb is 24 hours at each phase.
Be mindful and remember that if you suspect a head injury/concussion that you should consult a medical professional, preferably one that has experience with concussions and return-to-play.
https://theconcussionblog.com/current-concussion-management/