Keeping Players in the Game - Making Better Comebacks
How Researchers Are Changing Concussion Recovery
Keeping Players in the Game - Making Better Comebacks
How Researchers Are Changing Concussion Recovery
Athletes know exactly what to do when they tear a ligament. Brain injuries are harder. University of Utah researchers are studying concussion recovery, return-to-play decisions, biomarkers, and new therapies that may help athletes recover more safely and confidently.
How Researchers Are Changing Concussion Recovery
"Your Brain Is Your ACL"
If a soccer player tears a ligament, everyone knows what happens next. They're out. Nobody expects them to sprint back onto the field.
Concussions are different. As former collegiate and international soccer player Faith Taeoalii said, "Everyone thinks, ‘You can run with a concussion. You can play with a concussion. It’s not your ACL.’”
That's part of the problem. Just because an athlete can play doesn't mean they should.
UHealth neurologist Melissa Cortez has a simple way of explaining it:
"Your brain IS your ACL."
It's a statement she wishes more athletes understood.
Your brain isn't just another body part. It's your operating system. If your ACL (one of the primary ligaments in the knee) isn't working, your knee struggles. If your operating system isn’t working, everything gets weird.
Balance. Reaction time. Coordination. Decision-making. Even the ability to recognize that something is wrong.
That's why Cortez, who helps sports pros and Olympians return to play, believes athletes need to think differently about concussion recovery.
The question isn't whether you can still run. The question is whether your brain is ready to do its job.
Hardest Question in Sports: When Is an Athlete Ready to Return?
The hardest question after a concussion isn't “Did they get hurt?”
It's “Are they ready to come back?” For athletes, that's where things get complicated.
“Pain is not always gain when it comes to your brain.”
- Melissa Cortez, DO
Soccer player Sariah Taeoalii, Faith’s sister, remembers suffering a concussion during international competition after her head struck the turf. What happened next surprised her.
“I had an immediate headache, but I thought I was fine. But they were following FIFA guidelines, and I had to wait out a week. It was just interesting that it was kind of like, ‘Well, this is what we're supposed to do. We don't really know if you have one [a concussion].’”
It’s a process that can be frustrating for coaches, players, and parents. But underneath the protocols and caution is a question nobody can answer with certainty: Once the brain has been injured, how do we know it has recovered?
Cortez thinks about that question every day.
"Right now," she said, "a trainer or a coach does an assessment. Somebody sits out for ten minutes or sits out the rest of the half. Do we know if they're recovered? Not really.”
Recovery Isn't a Stopwatch
One of the biggest myths about concussion is that recovery follows a predictable timeline. It doesn't.
One athlete may recover quickly. Another may struggle for weeks.
Some symptoms disappear quickly. Others linger; in serious cases, for months or years.
Which is why sports medicine has changed dramatically over the last decade.
The old advice was often, “Go home. Sit in a dark room. Wait.”
Researchers now know recovery is more complicated.
Cortez and other University of Utah researchers have helped contribute to a growing understanding that carefully managed activity may be better than complete isolation.
In other words, the brain doesn't always need less activity. Sometimes it needs the right activity.
Shining New Light on Brain Injury Recovery
If biomarkers sound futuristic, University of Utah researcher Elisabeth Wilde, PhD, has something that sounds even more so: Light.
Specifically, medical-grade near-infrared light therapy called photobiomodulation.
Wilde is studying whether carefully delivered wavelengths of light can help support brain health and recovery after injury.
Research is still ongoing, but early results look promising.
“When we first started this project, I was extremely skeptical,” said Wilde. “But we’ve seen consistent results across multiple studies, so it’s starting to be quite compelling.”
Her work reflects how much the field has changed. Not long ago, researchers focused primarily on documenting damage. Today, they're exploring ways to help the brain recover.
The Future Isn't Guesswork
Concussions will probably never be simple. Brains are complicated, athletes are competitive, and recovery doesn't happen on a schedule.
But researchers like Cortez and Wilde are working toward a future where recovery is less mysterious than it is today.
It’s a future where athletes don't have to wonder whether they're ready; where coaches don't have to guess; where parents have more confidence in decision-making.
It’s a future where brain injuries are treated with the same seriousness and clarity as any other injury. Because when the brain hasn't healed, the rest of the body can't truly perform at its best.
As Cortez put it: "Your brain IS your ACL."
It deserves to be treated that way.
What Is Photobiomodulation?
Photobiomodulation is a form of medical-grade near-infrared light therapy being studied as a potential way to protect and support the brain after injury. Unlike cosmetic red-light therapy devices, this research uses carefully controlled wavelengths of near-infrared light delivered through specialized medical equipment. Researchers believe the light may help reduce brain inflammation and support the brain's natural recovery processes.
At the University of Utah, Elisabeth Wilde, PhD, and Carrie Esopenko, PhD, and their colleagues in the Traumatic Brain Injury and Concussion Center are studying whether photobiomodulation can improve recovery after traumatic brain injury and even help protect athletes from the subtle effects of repeated head impacts. The research is still ongoing, but early results have been encouraging enough to launch larger clinical studies.
"All the [photobiomodulation] studies we're doing involve people that have had a history, usually, of repetitive head hits. Most of them are ex-athletes or current athletes. We test and scan them before and after they undergo the [8-week] treatment." - Elisabeth Wilde, PhD, interview given Sept. 3, 2023.
Research has since expanded to include veterans, military members, and first responders.
"There's been a lot of science and engineering that's gone into this to figure out the specific wavelengths of light that need to be used. We're not telling people to go to a department store and get this device and it's going to make your brain all better. It's really specific to the type of light that's being projected." - Carrie Esopenko, PhD
About this Series
Keeping Players in the Game is a three-part series exploring how neuroscience is helping make soccer safer—from preventing injuries, to improving concussion recognition, to helping athletes recover and return to play.
The series features research from University of Utah experts Melissa Cortez, DO, Carrie Esopenko, PhD, and Elisabeth Wilde, PhD.
The series also includes the perspectives of the Taeoalii family, Utah residents whose lifelong involvement in sports provided valuable real-world insight into athlete safety. Sisters Faith, Grace, and Sariah Taeoalii have played soccer from youth leagues through high school and college competition as well as in FIFA World Cup qualifier tournaments. Sideline expert and mom Kelly Taeoalii is her daughters' biggest fan and booster.
Special thanks to the Taeoalii family for sharing their experiences, observations, and years of insight from the field.
Reviewed by:
Melissa Cortez, DO, Carrie Esopenko, PhD, and Elisabeth Wilde, PhD
Department of Neurology
University of Utah Health
