Shared Decision-Making About Returning to Sport After Recovery From Pediatric Concussion: Clinician Perspectives.

OBJECTIVE: Describe how sports medicine clinicians support decision making about sport participation after concussion recovery with adolescent patients and their parents. Specific areas of inquiry related to how clinicians framed the decision, what factors they considered in how they approached the decision process, and how they navigated discordance within families. DESIGN: Qualitative study. SETTING: Tertiary care sports medicine clinics at 4 children's hospitals in the United States. PARTICIPANTS: Individual interviews were conducted with 17 clinicians practicing in sports medicine settings. INTERVENTIONS: N/A. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Semi-structured interviews explored clinician approaches to supporting decision making, with the question guide informed by components of the Ottawa Decision Support Framework. RESULTS: Clinicians routinely incorporated aspects of shared decision making (SDM) into their conversations with families. This included ensuring all parties were informed about risk and aligned behind a shared value of adolescent well-being. Mediation strategies were used to manage discordance between adolescents and their parents, and between parents. These strategies aimed to facilitate a decision that was adolescent centered. When clinicians believed that there was a medical benefit to modifying the adolescent's sport participation practices, or when they did not believe the athlete was psychologically ready to return to the sport in which they were injured, they initiated conversations about alternative activities. In such situations, they used persuasive communication practices to encourage families to strongly consider this option. CONCLUSION: The strengths and strategies used by sports medicine clinicians in this study provide a foundation for guidance or intervention development aimed at supporting SDM after concussion with adolescents and their families.

Corrigendum: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an Exercise Program Requiring Minimal In-person Visits for Youth With Persistent Sport-Related Concussion.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2019.00623.].

Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of an Exercise Program Requiring Minimal In-person Visits for Youth With Persistent Sport-Related Concussion.

Objective: To evaluate feasibility and acceptability of a sub-threshold exercise program with minimal in-person visits to treat youth with persistent sport-related concussion, and explore efficacy for improving concussive symptoms, health-related quality of life, and fear-avoidance. Study design: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial comparing a 6 week sub-threshold exercise program requiring only two in-person visits to active control (stretching) for 12-18 year old youth with persistent sport-related concussion. We measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity pre- and post-intervention using accelerometry, and increased goals weekly via phone contact. We examined feasibility and acceptability using qualitative interviews. We used exponential regression to model differences in trajectory of concussive symptoms by experimental group, and linear regression to model differences in trajectory of health-related quality of life and fear-avoidance of pain by experimental group. Results: Thirty-two subjects randomized, 30 completed the study (n = 11 control, n = 19 intervention), 57% female. Youth and parents reported enjoying participating in the study and appreciated the structure and support, as well as the minimal in-person visits. Exponential regression modeling indicated that concussive symptoms declined more rapidly in intervention youth than control (p = 0.02). Health-related quality of life and fear-avoidance of pain improved over time, but were not significantly different by group. Conclusions: This study indicates feasibility and potential benefit of a 6 week subthreshold exercise program with minimal in-person visits for youth with persistent concussion. Potential factors that may play a role in improvement such as fear-avoidance deserve further study.

Pilot study of the Sub-Symptom Threshold Exercise Program (SSTEP) for persistent concussion symptoms in youth.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies suggest potential benefit using monitored aerobic exercise to treat youth with persistent concussion symptoms, but these studies have been small. OBJECTIVES: To explore the safety and potential benefits of a rehabilitative exercise intervention, the Sub-symptom Threshold Exercise Program (SSTEP), for treating youth with persistent concussion symptoms >1 month. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of 83 youth who participated in SSTEP, completing trajectory analysis of concussion symptoms using the symptom subscale of the Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, version 2 (SCAT-2). RESULTS: The average age of patients was 14.9+/-2.3 years and 54% were female. Most concussions (76%) were due to sports, the majority from football and girls' soccer, and 55% had a previous concussion. Comorbidity was not uncommon: 14% had history of ADHD and 16% history of depression and/or anxiety. Most patients improved following the intervention, and none reported worsening. Symptoms decreased exponentially following initiation of SSTEP, and trajectory did not differ by duration of symptoms at presentation (<6 weeks, 6-12 weeks, >12 weeks). CONCLUSIONS: Monitored exercise programs appear to be safe and potentially beneficial for youth with persistent concussive symptoms. Large-scale controlled studies are needed to examine efficacy, ideal timing and duration.

Diagnosis and treatment of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis.

Scoliosis is defined as a lateral curvature of the spine greater than 10 degrees on radiography that is typically associated with trunk rotation. The three major types of scoliosis are congenital, idiopathic, and neuromuscular. Idiopathic scoliosis is divided into three subcategories based on the age of onset. Infantile idiopathic scoliosis affects patients younger than 3 years, juvenile idiopathic scoliosis appears in children between 3 and 10 years, and adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) occurs in skeletally immature patients older than 10 years. AIS is the most common form of idiopathic scoliosis. Approximately 2% to 4% of children aged 10 to 16 years have some degree of spinal curvature. Although some researchers view routine screening for AIS as controversial, well-child examinations and sports physicals are an optimal time to evaluate for AIS in the clinical setting. In 2008, the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the Scoliosis Research Society, the Pediatric Orthopaedic Society of North America, and the American Academy of Pediatrics convened a task force to review the issues related to scoliosis screening and issued an information statement concluding that although screening has limitations, the potential benefits that patients with idiopathic scoliosis receive from early treatment can be substantial. Recommendations are now that females are screened twice, at age 10 and 12 years, and males once at age 13 or 14 years. Screening during routine well-child examinations and/or school-based evaluations will help identify patients who need ongoing monitoring. The evaluation of curvatures in conjunction with the level of skeletal maturity will help to guide the management of the curvature.

Medical coverage of gymnastics competitions.

Medical coverage of gymnastics competitions can be a challenging task for the sports medicine physician and other medical personnel because of the complexity and aerial nature of the sport. A broad understanding of the six gymnastics disciplines, along with the type of competitions, injury epidemiology, and the common acute gymnastics injuries will help sports medicine professionals in planning and delivering optimal care to the injured or ill gymnast.