If an athlete has been sidelined by a concussion for several weeks or longer, Dr. Robert Cantu recommends that he follow a "stepwise" approach to return to play:

1. No activity, complete rest (for youth athletes, complete rest includes cognitive rest, i.e. no school, homework, video games, Internet or text messaging). Once an athlete is completely symptom free, proceed to step 2;

2. Light aerobic exercise such as walking or stationary cycling, no resistance training;

3. Sport specific training (i.e. skating in hockey, running in soccer);

4. Non-contact training drills;

5. Full contact training, ideally only after clearance by a medical doctor;

6. Game play.

7. If any post-concussion symptoms reoccur, drop back to previous asymptomatic level and try to progress again after 24 hours.