Nearly half of adolescents who sought medical help for a concussion had returned to driving within two weeks of the injury – sooner than returning to exercise or sport – according to new research carried out by the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing (Penn Nursing).
Published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, the findings raise concerns about the need for guidance on safely returning to driving following a concussion.
The research states that more than 1.9 million children sustain a concussion each year, with adolescents representing more than 50 percent of these injuries.
The report concludes that: “Many adolescents continued to drive after concussion, despite not yet having returned to exercise or sport. Nine of 10 were advised to return to school with accommodations to begin a gradual increase in cognitive activity, suggesting a gradual increase in driving may be justified.”
