Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Concussion Clinic

In 2004 the Centers for Disease Control estimated that over 400,000 children and adolescents were treated in emergency rooms for sports and activity-related concussions. You don’t have to be “knocked out” to have a concussion. In fact, fewer than 10% of concussions result in loss of consciousness.

The Concussion Clinic at Nationwide Children’s Hospital utilizes the expertise of pediatric Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation specialists and Sports Medicine specialists, along with neurologists, neurosurgeons, radiologists, neuropsychologists and athletic trainers to best manage pediatric concussions.

The Dangers of Concussions

If recognized and treated properly, most children will recover fully from a single concussion. However, kids who sustain multiple concussions over a young sports career tend to take longer to recover each time and are more likely to experience prolonged post concussion symptoms or cognitive impairment.

A more important risk is something only seen in kids, Second Impact Syndrome (SIS). With SIS, under rare and unpredictable circumstances, a child sustains a second (even minor) trauma to the head while not yet recovered from a previous concussion, which can result in a potentially deadly cascade of events that causes rapid brain swelling.

Learn about the dangers of returning to play before fully recovering from a concussion (provided by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital).

Concussion Clinic Locations

The Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Concussion Clinic is available on the main campus of Nationwide Children's:

For your convenience, the Sports Medicine Concussion Clinic is available four days a week and at three locations:

Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation Appointment

Arrange a Consult

To arrange a consult, call (614) 722-6200 (select option #3 and then option #4).

Neurocognitive (Concussion) Testing

Learn about neurocognitive (concussion) testing conducted by Sports Medicine, including how to contact them to have your child tested.