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Kristen, age 16
-Varsity Soccer & Softball
- Recovery
course -
Kristen had a
protracted recovery. She became restless and
more emotional because she could not return to play and put a
great deal of pressure on her parents -
especially her mother. Neither
Kristen nor her parents could understand
why it was taking so long to recover
from this third concussion - especially
since it was a relatively benign
collision. Kristen was
maintained on a "No Play" status and
provided temporary support in school
e.g. extra time on tests and reduced
work load. Over the course of
4
weeks she settled down and began feeling
more normal. She was evaluated by
a local specialist and was evaluated
using ImPACT. Her scores remained
well below her baseline for 4-6 weeks
after the most recent event. The school readily
made accommodations for Kristen's fatigue and
feeling "slowed down."
She was offered counseling and support
for the changes in her mood but declined
to follow through. Kristen was
unable to return to the soccer season
because of her recurrent symptoms of
postconcussion syndrome. It is
hoped that she will be ready for spring
softball in January with rest and
continued light exertion activity.
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Return-to-play -
It isn't a good
idea to go from zero percent play to one
hundred ten percent play without a
return-to-play plan. The school's
trainer was prompted to assist with
Kristen's exertional testing and monitored
her symptoms during increased activity.
Because of the vulnerability for second
impact syndrome it was recommended she
not return this fall for the remainder
of the soccer season.
Light exertion is essential prior to returning to full
practice and ultimately to game play.
This series of steps
will progress slowly because of
Kristen's history. Meanwhile,
her cognitive functions were re-evaluated
using ImPACT and found to have improved
modestly on all measures including
speed of processing, memory, and
reaction time. The outcome of this
student's case is not fully known as of
this posting but her physician is taking
a slow, conservative return-to-play
scenario.
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