Trial reportThe Journal of head trauma rehabilitation
Aerobic Exercise for Adolescents With Prolonged Symptoms After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: An Exploratory Randomized Clinical Trial.
Trial report in The Journal of head trauma rehabilitation. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT03865433 (The Effect of a Sub-symptom Threshold Aerobic Exercise Program on Recovery in Concussed Athletes), which is not on this map. Cited by 70 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
The Effect of a Sub-symptom Threshold Aerobic Exercise Program on Recovery in Concussed Athletes
Who cites it
70 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- How completely are randomized controlled trials of non-pharmacological interventions following concussion reported? A systematic review.Journal of sport and health science · 2024Pooled it
- Brain changes: aerobic exercise for traumatic brain injury rehabilitation.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Pooled it
- Nonpharmacological Treatment of Persistent Postconcussion Symptoms in Adults: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis and Guideline Recommendation.JAMA network open · 2021Guideline
- Exertional Tolerance Assessments After Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: A Systematic Review.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation · 2018Pooled it
- Fitness training for cardiorespiratory conditioning after traumatic brain injury.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2017Pooled it
- The Effect of Antidepressants on Depression After Traumatic Brain Injury: A Meta-analysis.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationPooled it
- Effects of sub-symptom threshold aerobic exercise on persistent postconcussion symptom burden and exercise intolerance: a randomized controlled trial.Physical therapy · 2026Trial
- Feasibility of superimposed supine cycling and lower body negative pressure as an effective means of prolonging exercise tolerance in individuals experiencing persisting post-concussive symptoms: Preliminary results.Experimental physiology · 2026Trial
- Optimal Volume of Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity Postconcussion in Children and Adolescents.JAMA network open · 2024Trial
- Early Subthreshold Aerobic Exercise for Sport-Related Concussion: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA pediatrics · 2019Trial
- Randomized Controlled Trial Evaluating Aerobic Training and Common Sport-Related Concussion Outcomes in Healthy Participants.Journal of athletic training · 2018Trial
- Structural Connectivity Related to Persistent Symptoms After Mild TBI in Adolescents and Response to Aerobic Training: Preliminary Investigation.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationTrial
- Rehabilitation Involving Tailored Subsymptomatic Aerobic Exercise in Adult Patients With Persistent Postconcussion Symptoms (REPCon Project): Protocol for an Assessor-Blinded, Parallel-Group, Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2026Article
- Article
- Existing and Potential Therapies for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and Persistent Post-Concussion Symptoms in Intimate Partner Violence: A Narrative Review.Brain sciences · 2026Review
- The exercise and concussion health study (TECHS): Pilot and feasibility protocol.Contemporary clinical trials communications · 2026Article
- Review
- The Influence of Aerobic Exercise Therapy on Patient-Reported Outcome Measures Following Concussion: A Scoping Review.Biomedicines · 2025Review
- Understanding factors influencing exercise program adherence for youth with persistent post-concussive symptoms (PPCS).Brain injury · 2025Article
- Role of nonpharmacological concussion management in children: systematic review of randomized controlled trials.Clinical and experimental pediatrics · 2024Article
10 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveTo describe the methodology and report primary outcomes of an exploratory randomized clinical trial (RCT) of aerobic training for management of prolonged symptoms after a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in adolescents.
settingOutpatient research setting.
participantsThirty adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 years who sustained a mTBI and had between 4 and 16 weeks of persistent symptoms.
designPartially blinded, pilot RCT of subsymptom exacerbation aerobic training compared with a full-body stretching program. MAIN MEASURES: The primary outcome was postinjury symptom improvement assessed by the adolescent's self-reported Post-Concussion Symptom Inventory (PCSI) repeated for at least 6 weeks of the intervention. Parent-reported PCSI and adherence are also described.
resultsTwenty-two percent of eligible participants enrolled in the trial. Repeated-measures analysis of variance via mixed-models analysis demonstrated a significant group × time interaction with self-reported PCSI ratings, indicating a greater rate of improvement in the subsymptom exacerbation aerobic training group than in the full-body stretching group (F = 4.11, P = .044). Adherence to the home exercise programs was lower in the subsymptom exacerbation aerobic training group compared with the full-body stretching group (mean [SD] times per week = 4.42 [1.95] vs 5.85 [1.37], P < .0001) over the duration of the study.
conclusionFindings from this exploratory RCT suggest subsymptom exacerbation aerobic training is potentially beneficial for adolescents with persistent symptoms after an mTBI. These findings and other recent research support the potential benefit of active rehabilitation programs for adolescents with persistent symptoms after an mTBI. Larger replication studies are needed to verify findings and improve generalizability. Future work should focus on determining the optimal type, timing, and intensity of active rehabilitation programs and characteristics of individuals most likely to benefit.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.