Study: Playing smartphone app aids concussion recovery in teens
Researchers from The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center collaborated on the study with Jane McGonigal of the Institute for the Future, who developed the mobile health app called SuperBetter after she suffered a concussion. Results of the study are published online in the journal Brain Injury . The 19 teens who participated in the study received standard of care for concussion symptoms that persisted beyond 3 weeks after the head injury, and the experimental group also used the SuperBetter app as a gamified symptoms journal. "We found that mobile apps incorporating social game mechanics and a heroic narrative can complement medical care to improve health among teenagers with unresolved concussion symptoms, said first author Lise Worthen-Chaudhari, a physical rehabilitation specialist who studies movement at Ohio State's Wexner Medical Center's Neurological Institute. The American Academy of Neurology...