Graduated return to play protocol
| Rehabilitation stage | Functional exercise at each stage of rehabilitation | Objective of each stage |
|---|---|---|
| 1. No activity | Symptom limited physical and cognitive rest | Recovery |
| 2. Light aerobic exercise | Walking, swimming or stationary cycling keeping intensity <70% maximum permitted heart rate No resistance training | Increase HR |
| 3. Sport-specific exercise | Skating drills in ice hockey, running drills in soccer. No head impact activities | Add movement |
| 4. Non-contact training drills | Progression to more complex training drills, eg, passing drills in football and ice hockey May start progressive resistance training | Exercise, coordination and cognitive load |
| 5. Full-contact practice | Following medical clearance participate in normal training activities | Restore confidence and assess functional skills by coaching staff |
| 6. Return to play | Normal game play |