Exercise and Recovery Following Mild-to-Moderate Traumatic Brain Injury in the Community Setting

Introduction The recommendations on return to exercise post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) remain debatable. As recent as 10 years ago, the conventional recovery modality for a mild TBI was to reduce neurostimulating activity and encourage rest until the symptoms subsided. However, emerging literature...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Curēus (Palo Alto, CA) CA), 2024-02, Vol.16 (2), p.e53459-e53459
Main Authors: Weldon, Edward J, Nakamura, Ryan W, Van, Tracy, Goo, Connor, Lee, Anson Y, Jahansooz, Julia R, Carrazana, Enrique, Liow, Kore K
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brain research
Chi-square test
Consciousness
Electronic health records
Employment
Exercise
Fainting
Families & family life
Fitness equipment
Marital status
Medical records
Neurology
Pacific Islander people
Patients
Physical fitness
Questionnaires
Recovery (Medical)
Traumatic brain injury
Variables
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Summary:Introduction The recommendations on return to exercise post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) remain debatable. As recent as 10 years ago, the conventional recovery modality for a mild TBI was to reduce neurostimulating activity and encourage rest until the symptoms subsided. However, emerging literature has challenged this notion, stating that returning to exercise early in the course of mild TBI recovery may be beneficial to the recovery timeline. This study surveys Hawaii's diverse population to identify trends in exercise and recovery for TBI patients to shape recommendations on return to exercise. Methods A single-center retrospective chart review of the patients with mild-to-moderate TBI was selected from a patient database at an outpatient neurology clinic between January 2020 and January 2022. The variables collected include demographics, the etiology of injury, and symptoms at diagnosis. Self-generated phone surveys were completed to evaluate exercise patterns post-TBI. Results The patients who recovered within two years displayed similar exercise patterns to the patients who took more than two years to recover. Exercise frequency, intensity, and duration did not differ significantly (p=0.75, p=0.51, and p=0.80, respectively; n=100). Hiking and walking were more common in the long recovery (LR) group (p=0.02), likely reflecting advanced age compared to the short recovery (SR) group (50 versus 39 years, p
ISSN:2168-8184
2168-8184
DOI:10.7759/cureus.53459