Traumatic Brain Injury in Sports: A Review

Table 1

Graduated return to play protocol established at the 3rd international conference on concussion in sport.

Rehabilitation state	Functional exercise at each stage of rehabilitation	Objective of each stage
(1) No activity	Complete physical and cognitive rest	Recovery
(2) Light aerobic exercise	Walking, swimming, or stationary cycle keeping intensity <70% MPHR; no resistance training	Increase HR
(3) Sport-specific exercise	Skating drills in ice hockey, running drills in soccer, no head impact activates	Add movement
(4) Non-contact training drills	Progression to more complex training drills, for example, passing drills in football and ice hockey, may start progressive resistance training	Exercise, coordination, and cognitive load
(5) Full contact practice	Following medical clearance; participate in normal training activates	Restore confidence and asses functional skills by coaching staff
(6) Return to play	Normal game play