Open AccessSelective head–neck cooling after concussion shortens return-to-play in ice hockey players
Author(s) -
Anna Gard,
Yelverton Tegner,
Mohammad Fazel Bakhsheshi,
Niklas Marklund
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
concussion
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.205
H-Index - 3
ISSN - 2056-3299
DOI - 10.2217/cnc-2021-0002
Subject(s) - ice hockey , concussion , medicine , physical therapy , physical medicine and rehabilitation , head and neck , poison control , injury prevention , surgery , emergency medicine
We aimed to investigate whether selective head–neck cooling could shorten recovery after sports-related concussions (SRCs). In a nonrandomized study of 15 Swedish professional ice hockey teams, 29 concussed players received immediate head and neck cooling for ≥30 min (initiated at 12.3 ± 9.2 min post-SRC by a portable cooling system), and 52 SRC controls received standard management. Players receiving head–neck cooling had shorter time to return-to-play than controls (7 vs 12.5 days, p < 0.0001), and 7% in the intervention group versus 25% in the control group were out of play for ≥3 weeks (p = 0.07). Immediate selective head–neck cooling is a promising option in the acute management of SRC that should be addressed in larger cohorts.