Return to Play Progression
Once the athlete is cleared by the specialist, our staff trainers will administer this progression and evaluate the athlete for ultimate clearance to participate.
Baseline (Step 0)
As the baseline step of the Return to Play Progression, the athlete needs to have completed physical and cognitive rest and not be experiencing concussion symptoms for a minimum of 24 hours. Keep in mind, the younger the athlete, the more conservative the treatment.
Step 1: Light Aerobic Exercise
The Goal: only to increase an athlete’s heart rate
The Time: 5 to 10 minutes
The Activities: exercise bike, walking, or light jogging.
Absolutely NO weight lifting, jumping, or hard running
Step 2: Moderate Exercise
The Goal: limited body and head movement
The Time: Reduced from typical routine
The Activities: moderate jogging, brief running, moderate-intensity stationary biking, and moderate-intensity weightlifting
Step 3: Non-Contact Exercise
The Goal: more intense but non-contact
The Time: Close to typical routine
The Activities: running, high-intensity stationary biking, the player’s regular weightlifting routine, an non-contact sport-specific drills. This stage may add some cognitive component to practice in addition to the aerobic and movement components introduced in Steps 1 and 2.
Step 4: Practice
The Goal: Reintegrate in full contact practice.
Step 5: Play
The Goal: Return to competition