Whether from soccer, hockey, volleyball or football (and everything in between) if your kid suffers from a concussion they’ll very soon ask “when can I get back to playing and practicing with my team?”
After you’ve seen your doctor for a full diagnosis and treatment, your child will be chomping at the bit to get back to it and be with their teammates.
A mild concussion may get her back to playing soccer in a couple of weeks and yet a very severe concussion may land her on the bench for spring and fall soccer. As your doctor may have told you – it all depends on her symptoms and how she feels.
There are ways in which you can help her recover and get back to playing as soon as possible.
On “average” kids may need about five days of complete mental rest (shut down everything, TV, cell phones, reading, etc.)
PROVEN – kids who had this complete shutdown recovered faster than kids who did not do it right away or at all. So, please keep this in mind as this could dramatically affect recovery times. And stick to your guns, so-to-speak.
Don’t be fooled by the whining kid or the bookworm who wants to dive right back into school after just a day or two as you will both regret it – you’re the parent so don’t listen to them for at least 5 days or so!
If your kid is young and you don’t want to scare them or fully divulge how serious this type of brain injury can be then try to sugar coat some of it and say you want them to stay out of school to spend some alone time with you and they need a break as their coach thinks it’s best and orders some rest. Chances are they’ll listen to the coach’s orders over yours.
Once they’ve rested for five days or so (and symptoms have subsided!) then you can start to introduce minor brain function activities such as reading for a half hour at a time, cell phone use for a bit and perhaps TV. Try to keep them away from bright lights as you’ll know right away if they get a headache – back to more rest if this is the case.
If she is free from any concussion symptoms, and you’ve been given the OK from your doctor, she can slowly get back to practicing and playing – though take real slow.
They key is to take it slow or you’ll jeopardize her recovery and have it last much longer and perhaps more susceptible to another concussion.
