| Phase 3: return to contact/sparring fighting activities | ||
| May only advance to this phase when concussion symptoms have completely resolved | ||
| Step 1 | Sparring: short duration | First step of live sparring. Rounds of short duration with long breaks. Number of rounds is small to begin with and then can increase as tolerated. |
| Step 2 | Sparring: longer duration | Rounds at this step begin to lengthen in duration while breaks between rounds shortens. Number of rounds can also increase as fatigue allows. |
| Step 3 | Sparring: normal parameters | Full return to normal training. Return to normal rounds and time limits based on sport and next potential bout. Fighter should be able to tolerate normal parameters of training/sparring and is training as normal without a return of symptoms. |
An initial period of 1 week should occur prior to beginning phase 1.
*Adapted from Nalepa et al.32