Pedemy All toolsAnswer two questions for the right stage of recovery. Tap any earlier answer to change it.
This tool guides clinicians through return to learn and return to sport after a concussion in a child or teen. It asks two questions: whether any red flag is present, and where the child is in recovery.
Red flags include a worsening headache, repeated vomiting, drowsiness or confusion, seizure, weakness or unequal pupils, neck pain, and loss of consciousness or a GCS under 15. Any of these leads to emergency assessment, with a link to the Pedemy Head Trauma (PECARN) tool. Without red flags, you choose the stage: the first 1–2 days, symptoms improving, symptom-free at rest and fully back at school, or symptoms lasting over 4 weeks.
In the first days the tool advises brief relative rest for 24–48 hours rather than strict rest in a dark room, then light activity that does not worsen symptoms. It lays out a 4-step return-to-learn plan and a 6-step return-to-sport plan, with at least 24 hours per step and clinician clearance before full-contact practice. Symptoms beyond 4 weeks prompt referral to a concussion or sports medicine clinic. The content follows the CDC 2018 pediatric mild traumatic brain injury guideline and the Amsterdam 2022 consensus statement on concussion in sport.
There are 6 steps, each lasting at least 24 hours: symptom-limited activity, light aerobic exercise, sport-specific exercise without head impact, non-contact training drills, full-contact practice after medical clearance, and return to normal game play.
No. The tool notes that strict rest in a dark room slows recovery. It advises brief relative rest for 24–48 hours, limiting screens in the first 48 hours, then light activity that does not clearly worsen symptoms.
Symptoms lasting beyond 4 weeks are persisting post-concussive symptoms. The tool advises referral to a concussion or sports medicine clinic, supervised sub-symptom aerobic exercise, vestibular or vision therapy if needed, and screening for anxiety, depression and sleep problems.
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