Clinical trials

Concussions affect thousands of Canadians every year. Although the effects are usually temporary, 10-15% of adults experience persistent symptoms likely to last several weeks or even months. It is suggested that nutritional interventions should be considered in concussion management because nutrition can act on several mechanisms of brain injury. However, to date, no study has assessed the impact of dietary interventions on the recovery of people with persistent post-concussive symptoms. This randomized controlled trial aims to determine the impact of a dietary and nutritional intervention on the physical, cognitive, behavioural and emotional symptoms of patients with persistent post-concussive symptoms in New Brunswick, Canada. Patients will be randomized to one of three groups: 1) dietary treatments and nutritional supplements (experimental group A), 2) nutritional supplements (experimental group B), and 3) physiotherapy treatments (control group). Patients in group A will receive four consultations with a dietitian over eight weeks, in addition to conventional physiotherapy treatments. These patients will receive nutritional counselling and omega-3, vitamin D and creatine supplements. Patients in group B will be prescribed the same supplements as those in group A by their doctor and receive physiotherapy treatments. Finally, patients in the control group will only receive physiotherapy treatments. Patient symptoms will be measured using a questionnaire constructed from tools commonly used in practice. This questionnaire will be completed at the first physiotherapy session and 2, 4 and 8 weeks after the start of the intervention.

Providing care to residents and patients significantly contributes to work-related injuries among healthcare personnel, particularly those responsible for transferring and handling residents, who face a higher risk of injury due to the physical demands of their work and other environmental factors. The purpose of this project is to better understand the daily work requirements, identify their physical demands, and assess injury risk of caregivers. Data will be collected using a new pen-and-paper-based ergonomic surveying tool, a series of questionnaires, and measurements of physiological demands such as heart rate and galvanic skin response. Collecting this data will enable the investigators and others to create new interventions better tailored to this working population, with a focus on injury prevention. These interventions may include warm-up routines, stretching exercises, training programs, and/or technological advancements.