-Early head-and-neck cooling in concussed ice hockey players resulted in shorter time to return-to-play. This expanded study of Swedish ice hockey teams, in which the median time to initiate head-neck cooling following a concussion was 10 minutes, is published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Neurotrauma. Click here to read the article now.
Sports-related concussions are one of the most common injuries in contact sports such as ice hockey, football, soccer, and rugby. Up to 30% of ice hockey players who experience sports-related concussion may have prolonged recovery beyond the normal time range.
Exercise-induced elevation of core body temperature is associated with an increase in brain temperature. This may accelerate secondary injury processes following sports-related concussion and exacerbate the brain injury.
Corresponding author Professor Niklas Marklund, from Lund University, and coauthors conducted a clinical trial that included players from 19 male elite Swedish ice hockey teams over five seasons. In the intervention group, acute head-neck cooling was implemented using a head cap for at least 45 minutes in addition to standard sports-related concussion management.
In the intervention group, the median time to return-to-play was 9 days, significantly shorter than the 13 days in the control group, which did not undergo head-neck cooling. "The proportion of players out from play for more than the expected recovery time of 14 days was 24.7% in the intervention group, and 43.7% in controls," reported the investigators.
"The findings regarding immediate head and neck cooling after sports concussion are intriguing," says David L. Brody, MD, PhD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Neurotrauma. "I'm especially impressed with how quickly the investigators were able to start the intervention; an average of 10 minutes after injury!"
About the Journal
Journal of Neurotrauma is an authoritative peer-reviewed journal published 24 times per year in print and online that focuses on the latest advances in the clinical and laboratory investigation of traumatic brain and spinal cord injury. Emphasis is on the basic pathobiology of injury to the nervous system, and the papers and reviews evaluate preclinical and clinical trials targeted at improving the early management and long-term care and recovery of patients with traumatic brain injury. Journal of Neurotrauma is the official journal of the National Neurotrauma Society and the International Neurotrauma Society. Complete tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Neurotrauma website.
About the Publisher
Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in promising areas of science and biomedical research. A complete list of the firm's more than 100 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers website.
