A - 40 The Impact of Early Access on Sports-Related Concussions in Youth Hockey Players

Abstract

Sports-related concussions are the most common setting for adolescents to sustain a concussion. Delayed access to care is a risk factor for recovery and youth athletes have limited access to early intervention often due to lack of athletic trainer coverage. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of early access on sports-related concussions in youth hockey players. Participants (n = 67) included youth athletes from hockey organizations who partnered with a local specialty concussion clinic. Athletes presented to clinic for care (median = 2 days) after sustaining a concussion. We examined whether the number of days since injury to initial exam (DSI) significantly predicted recovery time while controlling for common injury modifiers, such as symptom severity, anxiety sensitivity, and age. Recovery was measured in number of days since injury to the date of medical clearance. Multivariate general linear analyses indicated that DSI (M = 4.96, SD = 8.90), significantly predicted the number of recovery days (M = 12.85, SD = 9.47), with each day earlier to initial exam predicting almost one day faster recovery (B = 0.92; p < 0.001; Œ∑p2 = 0.813). Variables of age (M = 13.78, SD = 2.59), anxiety sensitivity (M = 8.91, SD = 9.69), and concussion severity (M = 19.22, SD = 8.90), were not predictive recovery. Early access resulted in faster medical clearance. This sample of youth hockey players do not have access to an athletic trainer to provide early intervention. Our results suggest that the ability to have early intervention through a specialty concussion clinic partnership resulted in faster recovery, highlighting the importance of continuing to explore and cultivate these relationships with youth sports.