Centre for Rehabilitation Research and Development
Concussion research
On this page:
Guideline
The Living Concussion Guideline for Adults 18 years of Age and Older is a unique tool designed for clinicians by clinicians who assess and treat concussion. It was developed and designed by a team led by Dr. Shawn Marshall. It provides recommendations for initial concussion assessment and treatment and for management of specific symptoms as well as management of prolonged symptoms. It also has a section on concussion in Older Patients.
The Guideline is based upon a systematic review process which engages over 40 different clinicians from various disciplines from across Canada. Each section provides a summary of evidence and useful tools and resources for clinicians to access.
A Patient Guideline Section was designed with help from people with concussions and people with prolonged symptoms. It also provides suggestions for useful resources to help patients on their journey to symptom improvement.
The Living Guideline is easy to navigate and provides a quick reference for anyone looking to understand concussion based on the best available evidence.
Post Concussion Clinic
Since October 2013 a Post-Concussion Research-Based Clinic has existed at The Ottawa Hospital Rehabilitation Centre (TOHRC). This clinic provides service to patients in the Champlain LHIN region. It also serves as the basis for ongoing promotion of post-concussion and persisting symptom awareness within The Ottawa Hospital and regionally.
The Clinic has a core team of clinicians who represent disciplines and specialties most relevant to diagnosing and treating prolonged symptoms following concussion including physiatry, psychology, neuropsychology and radiology.
The clinic has previously been engaged in co-leading a Concussion Care Strategy for Ontario which is a collaborative effort with St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, to establish a provincial dataset of elements for a post-concussion research database.
With patient consultants, the clinic has developed a series of ‘Smart-phrases’ that can be used to provide patients with standardized information in lay language for all patient visit summaries. This technique ensures all patients get consistent messaging and allows clinicians to construct and dispense visit summaries fairly quickly.
Current projects
A pilot project using VR technology to evaluate the use of prism glasses following concussion.
An evaluation of online patient-facing resources for adult concussion patients.
Recent Publications
Ethier-Gagnon M, Lithopoulos A, Pattison M, et al. Interventions to help adults with concussion return to work: A systematic review. PM R. Published online March 28, 2025. doi:10.1002/pmrj.13359