Recovery and Rehabilitation from Head Trauma or Brain Injury

1. Recovery and Rehabilitation from Head trauma or Brain injury Brain injury is the most damaging and fatal of all injuries to the body. Nearly 100,000 lives are lost each year in India due to brain injury and a million people suffer from disabilities due to brain injury. While treatment for brain injury is crucial in saving the patient's life, it is the post-traumatic recovery that minimizes the intensity of its harmful repercussions. This relies mostly on brain injury rehabilitation. Why is brain injury rehabilitation a must? The aftermath of a brain injury and the extent of its damage depends to a large extent on the brain injury rehabilitation. While brain injury treatment is critical within the golden hour of the

2. incident, it is the rehabilitation which determines the speed of recovery and the repair of damaged cells. With nearly 25% of the brain injury victims suffering from mental or physical disability issues, brain injury rehab is a must, to get them on the road to recovery in the fastest time. How can brain injury rehabilitation help? During a brain injury, the cerebral cortex may be damaged affecting the sensorimotor functions of the person. Research reveals that brain injury rehabilitation is able to restore neuroplasticity in the undamaged parts of the cerebral cortex, helping the person recover faster. Neuroplasticity is the ability of the brain to form new neural connections in response to changes in the environment. This neuroplasticity is vital in allowing the neurons to recoup after a brain injury and brain injury rehab can help optimized and achieve this. This is why brain injury rehabilitation is a must after brain injury treatment. Brain injury patients after treatment must be transferred to an expert rehabilitation centre for complete recovery. What is brain injury rehabilitation? Brain injury rehabilitation is an inter-disciplinary approach intended to minimize the severity of the side-effects of brain injury. It allows a coordinated effort in providing speech, language, behavioural, cognitive, motor and occupational therapy to help the brain-injured patient to resume his normal life and routine. What does brain injury rehab involve? Since the consequence of a brain injury differs from person to person, the brain injury rehab program is customized to suit the patient's needs. This brain injury rehabilitation program may include one or all of the following treatments Neuro- Physical therapy  Neuro-Occupational therapy  Swallow, Speech and language therapy  Neuropsychology 

3. Every brain injury patient is analyzed by a specialist and evaluated on the basis of the following brain injury symptoms or parameters. Visual ability - partial or total blindness, visual field defects, visuospatial defects  Speech and Language ability -ability to speak and understand a language  Cognitive ability like memory, thinking and attention  Behavioural pattern like aggression, depression, anxiety  Strength and coordination like motor movement, muscle strength etc.  Swallowing ability  Bowel and bladder control  Social support  Interdisciplinary therapy in Brain injury rehabilitation During brain injury rehabilitation, the specialized treatment methodology suggested by the expert physician includes Physiatry where medicines are prescribed and injections are administered to reduce brain  injury complications like speech, hearing or visual impairment, muscle tightness, arm and leg weakness, mood swings and impaired arousal. Neuro- Physiotherapy where physical exercise training is imparted to prevent muscular  atrophy, diminish muscle and tendon tightness. alleviate pain and inflammation and restore the patient's mobility and balance. Motor skill exercises are offered by experts at this best physiotherapy clinic in Chennai. Neuro- Occupational therapy where training is provided to resume normal physical  activities and daily routine ultimately culminating in community integration through education and employment. cognitive and visual exercise are also included in this area. Swallow, Speech and language therapy-Right form speaking to swallowing, all the  patient's vocal, feeding and auditory faculties are adjudged and improved. Neuropsychology- Brain injury victims may suffer from depression or anxiety. A  neuropsychologist provides the required motivation, counselling and training required to stabilize their disrupted mental state and improve the quality of their life. Social worker – Acts a liaison between the patients and the community. A social worker  educates patients on resources available to safely integrate them back to the community,

4. provides emotional and psychological support for patients and caregivers going through this process. Brain injury may be caused by a one-time incident, but it may have numerous side effects and requires interdisciplinary treatment using cross-functional methodologies to counter problems in vision, speech, motor, and cognitive functioning. Addressing all these medical issues simultaneously under one roof is possible only by a proficient brain injury rehab centre. Only such a specialized brain injury rehabilitation centre can offer a tailor-made treatment to suit the complexity of the patient's illness. Never underestimate the value of brain injury rehab by stopping with just treatment after a brain injury. Post-traumatic recovery can only be successful and complete with rehabilitation and it restores the normalcy of daily routine and improves the quality of life.