After suffering from a traumatic brain injury, coordinated care, education, and support can help patients and family members better cope with the recovery process.
Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery Process
Traumatic brain injury is a complicated condition, and every injury is different for patients who have experienced any brain trauma. People who suffer from this type of injury can develop long-term disabilities and symptoms that continue to interfere with their lives. However, with the right treatment and support, patients can make life-changing progress through the traumatic brain injury recovery process.
What is traumatic brain injury?
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens when the brain is damaged by a sudden injury. An external physical force, such as a car accident, a fall, a skull-piercing injury, blunt force trauma, or a violent assault. TBI does not include brain injury caused by tumors, strokes, or oxygen deprivation.
Recovery from traumatic brain injury is most often dependent on the severity of the brain injury and the degree to which they experience symptoms. These can include losing consciousness, headaches, confusion, dizziness, cognitive and motor dysfunction, and emotional and mental changes.
How long can traumatic brain injury take?
Traumatic brain injuries can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on how much damage there is. Concussions are a mild form of TBI that are temporary symptoms, which go away within a few weeks after the injury.
Symptoms of moderate cases can persist for a couple of months, sometimes a year or more. The most severe cases can result in permanent brain damage, coma, or death. If you have had a traumatic brain injury, rehabilitation will be an important part of recovery.
Stages of the Traumatic Brain Injury Recovery Process
There is a step-by-step approach to recovery where people improve gradually over time. Rehabilitation progresses at a different rate for each individual and not everyone progresses through all of the stages. Some people skip stages while others stall during recovery. How people progress through these stages and how long each stage lasts varies greatly for each individual.
Stage 1: Coma
Comas are the first stage of recovery after a traumatic brain injury because they allow the brain to mend without interruption. A coma is the most severe kind of unconsciousness, in which the patient is observably unresponsive to their surroundings and is unable to awaken, even when stimulated.
Stage 2: Vegetative State
Many people mistake comas and vegetative states for the same thing, yet they are two different states of consciousness. The person in a vegetative condition has regained some reflexes and has delayed reactions. They are not, however, fully cognizant.
Stage 3: Minimally Conscious State
A person may drift in and out of awareness while in the minimally conscious condition. They do, however, have a limited awareness of the world around them, unlike in the vegetative state. At this point, a doctor may administer medications to help the patient regain awareness by stimulating the brain.
Stage 4: Confused/Agitated
The stage following waking up from a coma when the brain is in a severe condition of forgetfulness is referred to as post-traumatic amnesia. It’s possible that the patient won’t be able to recall events from the past or generate new memories. The individual may appear erratic and may act aggressively or inappropriately.
Stage 5: Confused/Inappropriate
A person has problems focusing and is still perplexed by their environment at this level. Their reactions to queries and directives are inconsistent and illogical.
Stage 6: Confused/Appropriate
The person can follow directions and hold a brief conversation, but they still have memory issues and are unable to focus.
Stage 7: Automatic/Appropriate
When a person reaches this point in their recovery, they are able to stick to a regular schedule and execute daily duties on their own, but they still struggle to initiate activities and plan ahead. They are unable to live independently.
Stage 8: Purposeful/Appropriate:
Self-awareness and memory will be substantially enhanced in the patient. They still struggle with social contact and reaction times, and they are bothered by unexpected events, but they are learning to manage. They can even live alone with only a little aid from others.
Stages 9 and 10: Purposeful/Modified Independent
The person is functionally independent at this point and has essentially recovered completely. They are capable of handling numerous jobs at once, initiating new duties and planning ahead of time, as well as adjusting to unforeseen circumstances. Their thinking is still a little slower than the average person’s.
What factors does traumatic brain injury recovery depend on?
Recovery after traumatic brain injury (TBI) can be influenced by a number of factors, including the severity of the damage, availability to and responsiveness to therapy, age, previous environmental, genetic, or medical difficulties, and co-occurring diseases. Contact Everest clinic if you have questions.
TBI victims may have pre-existing conditions, as well as a wide range of cognitive, physiological, genetic, and environmental factors that may help to mitigate the impact of the damage. Each of these factors can influence a person’s initial response to trauma and subsequent treatment response.
How to maximize the patient’s chances of getting through to the last stage of traumatic brain injury recovery
For a traumatic brain injury full recovery, it is ultimately up to each patient to persevere with regular exercises and activities. The following treatments along with positive, loving support from friends and family are key to recovery:
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- Cognitive-behavioral therapy
- Increasing physical activity
- Healthy diet and lifestyle habits
What is the role of inpatient rehabilitation in traumatic brain injury recovery?
After a patient has been confirmed to be medically stable, inpatient rehabilitation frequently begins as soon as possible. The goal of treatment is to help the patient achieve the highest level of independence feasible.
Inpatient therapy is given by a multidisciplinary team of professionals that collaborate on a daily basis and share information about your treatment and recovery. Because traumatic brain injuries can affect a wide variety of cognitive and motor abilities, a personalized strategy to recovery that recognizes and addresses each individual’s limits is critical.