At-home exercise may help teens bounce back faster from concussion

by Sanjukta Mondal, Medical Xpress

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edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan

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One doesn't have to step onto a football field to get a concussion; it can happen anywhere. A fall during an everyday activity or a minor car accident can deliver the jolt to the head that causes one. While headaches, memory problems, disrupted sleep and difficulty concentrating usually fade without a trace, up to 30% of people continue to experience these symptoms for years.

For adolescents, lingering symptoms can mean struggling to keep up with school and missing out on social interactions, which can ultimately take a toll on their mental well-being because so much at this stage of life revolves around school activities and friendships. A recent study looked at whether a home-based, virtual exercise program can help teenagers recover faster from concussions.

The researchers tested two scenarios, both guided by experts. In the first, teenagers started with just 10 minutes of aerobic exercise a day, choosing an activity like brisk walking or stationary cycling. They were asked to stop if any symptom worsened during the activity. The second group, the control group, instead of aerobic activities, followed a daily stretching routine that began with two exercises targeting the neck and upper back.

They saw that teens who completed the guided aerobic exercise program recovered from their concussion symptoms significantly faster than those who only did daily stretching. At the three-month check-in, teens in the aerobic exercise group reported significantly lower concussion symptom levels and a higher health-related quality of life than the control group.

The findings are published in JAMA Pediatrics.

Testing the new remote program

Nearly 2 million concussions occur in the U.S. every year, and teenagers face an especially high risk because of the sports they play. The main reason people struggle with daily life or end up disabled after a concussion is that symptoms linger for months and years after the injury. For young adults, school and sports become hard to keep up with, families grow worried, and many seek medical care in the hope of getting better sooner.

Some randomized clinical trials (RCTs) found that aerobic exercise, the kind that raises the heart rate, clears symptoms faster when it starts soon after the injury. However, most of these studies left out people whose symptoms had lasted longer. They also required repeated in-person clinic visits, which is a real burden for teens already balancing symptoms with schoolwork.

In this study, the researchers designed a randomized clinical trial that ran from 2021 to 2025 across outpatient clinics in Washington, Utah, Wisconsin and Oregon. Researchers enrolled 210 teenagers ages 11 to 18 who had sustained a concussion within the previous year. Both groups continued receiving standard medical care for their concussion and checked in weekly with a trained health coach over Zoom. They also wore Fitbit activity trackers to keep tabs on their heart rates in real time.

Throughout the six-week program, researchers recorded participants' daily exercise or stretching activities in the aerobic exercise group, which followed the Mobile Subthreshold Exercise Program (MSTEP), and the control group. They then used statistical models to compare changes in symptoms and quality of life between the groups at the three-month mark.

Recovery through movement

Teenagers in the aerobic exercise group reported a greater reduction in symptoms and a bigger improvement in their overall health-related quality of life after three months. They not only felt better physically but also found everyday activities easier. By six months, however, both groups had continued to recover, and their symptom levels and quality-of-life scores had become similar.

The aerobic routine offered a significant added benefit only to teenagers who started the program within 90 days of their concussion. Sleep quality, anxiety and depressive symptoms all improved for participants over the course of the trial, but the exercise group did not do any better than the stretching group.

The researchers are hopeful that remotely tailoring and monitoring exercise programs could transform concussion care, especially for people living in remote and rural areas who may struggle to access specialized treatment.

Written for you by our author Sanjukta Mondal, edited by Sadie Harley, and fact-checked and reviewed by Robert Egan—this article is the result of careful human work. We rely on readers like you to keep independent science journalism alive. If this reporting matters to you, please consider a donation (especially monthly). You'll get an ad-free account as a thank-you.

Publication details

Sara P. D. Chrisman et al., Mobile Subthreshold Exercise Program (MSTEP) for Youth With Prolonged Concussion Recovery, JAMA Pediatrics (2026). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2026.4927

Journal information: JAMA Pediatrics

Key medical concepts

ConcussionHealth Related Quality Of Life

Clinical categories

NeurologyFitness & Physical activityPediatricsChildren's health Who's behind this story?

Sanjukta Mondal

Master's in Chemistry. Freelance science journalist and communicator. Published in Chemistry World, BioSpace, and The Hindu. Full profile →

Sadie Harley

BSc Life Sciences & Ecology. Microbiology lab background with pharmaceutical news experience in oil, gas, and renewable industries. Full profile →

Robert Egan

Bachelor's in mathematical biology, Master's in creative writing. Well-traveled with unique perspectives on science and language. Full profile →

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