"Have a child healing from a head injury Theres an app for that and it may help doctors to improve concussion care. In a pilot program that already has been expanded a team of researchers from the University of Pennsylvanias Perelman School of Medicine and the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia recently used everyday technology  a computer application along with portable movement and sleep monitors  to learn about patients activity after a concussion. The studys results published online in September in JAMA Pediatrics may lead to some changes in recommendations for the recovery period after a concussion. Its not  percent what we expected said Christina L. Master a Childrens Hospital attending physician associate professor of clinical pediatrics and study coauthor.  Typical postconcussion symptoms can include headache dizziness and nausea. After a head trauma metabolic and bloodflow changes can make the brain more vulnerable to further injury. So patients generally are advised to limit physical and cognitive activities. The question is how much rest is best We need to learn better what the optimal time is Master said. The findings of the pilot suggest that the right balance during recovery from concussion may be resting ones brain but still getting some physical activity. The researchers found that patients who spent more time reading playing online games watching television or working on a computer reported more severe symptoms on the day they engaged in the activity and two days after. That was especially true of patients who started out with more severe symptoms. However more physical activity tended to correspond with fewer symptoms that day and the next two days according to the study. The majority of patients in the study   percent  reported no symptoms by the end of the two weeks during which each was studied. If replicated this could change how physicians care for their pediatric concussion patients said Douglas J. Wiebe study lead author and associate professor in Penns department of biostatistics and epidemiology. The study involved  patients  to  years of age. Master said each participant was asked to carry an accelerometer to record movements and an iPod Touch loaded with an app that would ping them prompts at intervals during each day to report any symptoms they were feeling. They also completed activity questionnaires and summaries. In addition they wore a device called an ActiGraph to monitor sleep. The studys methods allowed the researchers to get immediate information about individual participants. This may be a really useful means to get realtime data from a patient Master said. The pilot did not include the first  to  hours after an injury because there was a lag before patients were referred to the study from a sports medicine clinic according to Master. However she said a followup study already has been started that includes the immediate postinjury period. The study comes at a time when concussion reports are on the rise according to a data analysis by the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association. Pennsylvania and New Jersey had among the highest rates in the nation according to the insurer probably because of increased awareness of the longterm effects of head injuries rather than an increase in actual injuries. In  to yearolds concussion diagnoses increased by  percent from  through ."