Pediatric Concussion Diagnosis, Management, and Rehabilitation

Pediatric concussions are a significant public health burden. About 25% of children with a concussion have a delayed recovery, where symptoms can last for over a month. Concussion management is predicated upon prevention, early recognition, avoidance of repeat injury, and instigation of appropriate rehabilitation strategies early after injury in order to minimize the impact of the injury. In this chapter, we will review the epidemiology and pathophysiology of concussion, and then we will focus on the aspects of concussion assessment and management that are most useful to the clinician.