Traumatic Brain Injury
What is it?
Traumatic brain injury or TBI happens when a sudden, external force damages the brain. TBI is a broad term that describes a vast array of injuries that happen to the brain. Some types of TBI can cause temporary or short term problems however more serious TBI can lead to severe and permanent disability. Some symptoms of TBI are considered primary, meaning the damage is immediate. Other symptoms are considered secondary, meaning they occur gradually over the course of hours, days and even weeks.
Types of Traumatic Brain Injury:
- There are two broad types of TBI: Penetrating and non-penetrating:
Penetrating TBI happens when an object pierces the skull and enters the brain tissue. This normally damages only part of the brain.
Non-penetrating TBI is caused by an external force strong enough to move the brain within the skull.
One person can suffer both penetrating and non-penetrating TBI’s at the same time.
TBI-related damage can be confined to one area of the brain, known as a focal injury, or it can cover a more widespread area, known as a diffuse injury. The type of injury will also affect how the brain is damaged.
How Can We Help?
Cortex Physiotherapy will help you to move freely and live fully. Recovery from a Traumatic brain injury varies greatly depending on a lot of factors including, but not limited to, the size, severity and location of the brain injury. Recovery from TBI is not time limited and Cortex Physiotherapy will help you shape and optimise your recovery. Where there has been too much damage to the brain caused by the TBI there may not be any potential for recovery and our focus will then change to using what you have to achieve what you want.
We will also provide treatment to manage the symptoms of your TBI in order to optimise the quality of your life. Recovery, even when we are talking about compromise, is heavily dependent on the individual challenging themselves and committing themselves to the rehabilitation programme provided by Cortex Physiotherapy.
Potential for improvement is something that is very difficult to determine and each individual case will be different. Cortex Physiotherapy will always have an open and honest discussion about potential for improvement and this will be regularly monitored and discussed to ensure that you and your therapist are working as a team. You will receive a full neurological examination to determine where your individual problems lie, after this you and your therapist will have a discussion about what matters most to you. Your therapist will then tailor your treatment to your goals and your journey to the life you want begins.