Sub-Threshold Exercise Treatment for Adolescents With Sports Related Concussion

November 17, 2023 updated by: John Leddy, University at Buffalo
Adolescents with concussion will be randomly assigned to a treatment group where they will receive sub-threshold exercise, or assigned to a placebo group where they will receive structured stretching exercises. Both groups will receive standard medical coverage with regular clinic visits. All participants will record symptoms daily on a dedicated web site. All participants will be evaluated at time 1 with (1) structured physical exam, and (2) structured exercise stress test which is terminated when there is symptom exacerbation. The primary outcome measure is time to recovery where recovery is defined as (1) asymptomatic for two consecutive days, and (2) ability to exercise to exhaustion without exacerbation of symptoms, and (3) confirmed by a physician based on a structured physical exam.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Adolescents with concussion will be randomly assigned to a treatment group where they will receive sub-threshold exercise, or assigned to a placebo group where they will receive structured stretching exercises. Both groups will receive standard medical coverage with regular clinic visits. All participants will record symptoms daily on a dedicated web site. All participants will be evaluated at time 1 with (1) structured physical exam, and (2) structured exercise stress test which is terminated when there is symptom exacerbation. The primary outcome measure is time to recovery where recovery is defined as (1) asymptomatic for two consecutive days, and (2) ability to exercise to exhaustion without exacerbation of symptoms, and (3) confirmed by a physician based on a structured physical exam.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

103

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • New York
      • Buffalo, New York, United States, 14214
        • University at Buffalo

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

10 years to 18 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adolescent with concussion injury from sports within first 10 days

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Evidence of focal neurologic deficit; ADHD; history of moderate or severe TBI; greater than 3 prior concussions (or having history of long recovery from concussion, >3 mths); inability to understand English

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Aerobic Exercise
Participants will receive an exercise prescription based on their heart rate threshold (HRT) for symptom exacerbation during the Buffalo Concussion Treadmill Test (BCTT). The script will ask the participant to exercise one a day for 20 minutes at 80% of HRT. Participants will wear a smart watch to monitor their frequency, actual time and HR during exercise. Treatment will continue until participant is fully recovered from their concussion. Intervention: Sub-Threshold exercise prescription
Participants will be given a prescription to exercise at 80% of their threshold HR for symptom exacerbation. HR Threshold will be monitored weekly and exercise level increased accordingly.
Placebo Comparator: Stretching Exercise
Participants will receive a prescription for stretching exercises that they will be asked to do daily. Participants will wear a smart watch to monitor their frequency, actual time and HR during exercise. Treatment will continue until participant is fully recovered from their concussion. Intervention: Structured stretching exercise prescription.
Participants will be given a prescription for daily stretching lasting approximately 20 minutes.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Time (in days) to recovery
Time Frame: 2 to 180 days
Time (in days) to recovery (Recovery is asymptomatic+able to exercise to exhaustion without symptom exacerbation+judged recovered by MD with structured physical exam.)
2 to 180 days

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: John Leddy, MD, University at Buffalo

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

September 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

May 31, 2018

Study Completion (Actual)

June 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2016

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 11, 2016

First Posted (Estimated)

March 16, 2016

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 21, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 17, 2023

Last Verified

November 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 030-690120
  • UL1TR001412 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No plan to share data

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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