Youth with a concussion history and greater sport experience may have more skill-related motor “reserve” to lessen the impact of concussions, according to a study published in the European Journal of Sport Science. The researchers found that individuals with concussion history and higher amounts of sport experience (seven to 12 years) reached a performance level matching their no-history peers quicker (after 12 months) than those with concussion history and lower sport experience (one to six years; recovery after 30 months). Findings were independent of the number of concussions, age, and sex.
“Youth with a concussion history but greater sport experience may have more skill-related motor ‘reserve,’” the authors write. “This reserve may directly aid in behavioral recovery postconcussion, or the greater neurological efficiency associated with athletic experience provides a compensatory mechanism that provides faster functional recovery.”