American Medical Society for Sports Medicine
For Immediate Release Dec 07, 2017

AMSSM Awards $300,000 Research Grant for Concussion Recovery Study

The American Medical Society for Sports Medicine and its Collaborative Research Network (CRN) are pleased to announce the recipients of the AMSSM CRN $300,000 Multi-Site Research Grant, which supports quality, multi-site research to address key priority areas within the field of sports medicine. John Leddy, MD, Christina Master, MD and William Meehan III, MD will serve as co-principal investigators for their research project titled “Sub-symptom aerobic exercise therapy to improve recovery from acute sport-related concussion: A randomized controlled trial.”

Their study aims to determine if sub-symptom threshold aerobic exercise within one week of SRC speeds recovery in adolescents compared with rest/education. The study will also determine if the degree of early exercise intolerance is associated with time to recovery and the incidence of prolonged post-concussive symptoms.

“We are profoundly grateful to the AMSSM CRN Scientific Committee for honoring our group with its first grant award,” Dr. Leddy said. “Our goal is to advance the science of concussion treatment for clinicians and to develop a multi-center working group that will be competitive for NIH and major foundation funding for years to come.”

The group consists of AMSSM clinicians and researchers at various locations, including the University at Buffalo (Dr. Leddy), Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (Dr. Master and Matt Grady, MD) and Boston Children’s Hospital (Dr. Meehan). Other key members of the team are Rebekah Mannix, MD, MPH (Boston Children’s Hospital) and Andrew W. Mayer, MD (The Mind Research Network and the University of New Mexico).

The team of investigators will work closely with the CRN Leadership team on this project over the next two years, and the CRN looks forward to sharing results with the membership once they become available.

Dr. Anthony Beutler, Chair of the CRN Leadership Committee added, “The goal of the CRN is to improve the clinical practice of sports medicine through collaborative research. Post-concussion care is central to the daily practice of most sports medicine physicians, and we are confident that this work by Dr. Leddy’s group will advance clinical care and improve the lives of thousands of young athletes.”

The grant is funded by AMSSM and the AMSSM Foundation and was open to all AMSSM members, who were encouraged to connect with collaborators both within and outside of AMSSM. The grant is intended as seed money to provide data for major external grants to follow. In alignment with the mission of the CRN, proposals were required to include two or more sites. 

About the CRN: The mission of the CRN is to foster collaborative multi-site research among AMSSM members with a goal of advancing the practice of sports medicine.

About the AMSSM: AMSSM is a multi-disciplinary organization of sports medicine physicians dedicated to education, research, advocacy and the care of athletes of all ages. The majority of AMSSM members are primary care physicians with fellowship training and added qualification in sports medicine who then combine their practice of sports medicine with their primary specialty. AMSSM includes members who specialize solely in non-surgical sports medicine and serve as team physicians at the youth level, NCAA, NFL, MLB, NBA, WNBA, MLS and NHL, as well as with Olympic teams. By nature of their training and experience, sports medicine physicians are ideally suited to provide comprehensive medical care for athletes, sports teams or active individuals who are simply looking to maintain a healthy lifestyle. www.amssm.org