Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Post Traumatic Brain Injury

There are several methods to recover from TBI, and one of the most accessible is physical therapy. Let’s find out more.

If you want to regain strength and movement after a painful brain injury, one of the most suitable things you can do is physical therapy. Physical therapy helps people improve their mobility through numerous interventions targeting the affected muscles. 

The main goal of physical therapy and rehabilitation for traumatic brain injury is to restore independent movement. One of the most effective practices to do this is to activate something known as neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity is the capability of the central nervous system to reorganize its circulatory-based behaviors that we repeatedly perform. Therefore, individuals should exercise regularly to regain motor control after a traumatic brain injury.

What is physical therapy?

Physical therapy (PT) is care aimed at relieving pain and helping you function, move, and live better. You may need it to:

• Relieve the pain

• Improve movement or skills

• Prevent or recover from sports injuries

• Prevent disability or surgery

• Rehab after a stroke, accident, surgery, or injury.

• Work with a balance to prevent slipping and falling

• Control chronic illnesses— diabetes, heart disease, or arthritis

• Live after giving birth

• Control your bowels or bladder

• Get acquainted (gain, obtain) with present-day techniques

• Learn to use aids such as a walker or a stick

• Get a splint or brace

Individuals of all ages benefit from physical therapy, and it can cure various health problems.

Physical Therapists can create fitness and wellness programs that promote a healthy, active lifestyle and improve movement specifically designed for the patient's requirements.

How do you prepare for recovery post a traumatic brain injury?

Before starting rehab, you should learn what is physical therapy and get care and treatment for the first results of TBI. It may include:

• Emergency treatment of headaches and any other injuries

• Intensive care treatment

• Surgery to repair brain or skull damage

• Recovery at the hospital

• Refer to a rehabilitation hospital

Here are some recommendations to improve your muscle function through physical therapy

Getting used to constant strenuous movements caused by traumatic brain injury (TBI) helps to strengthen the need for those activities and promotes neuroplasticity. It explains why a physiotherapist will allow you to do several repetitions of the same exercise. Because the more you practice, the more activated neuroplasticity.

Passive  exercise

Exercise is another form of physical therapy that therapists often use to help people with severe brain damage to regain mobility.

Occasionally the neural connections between the brain and the muscles are disconnected after an injury, making it difficult to move the affected muscles. Doctors call this a brain disorder. To treat this condition, a physiotherapist may recommend exercise.

Exercise at home

Regular exercise is the heart of rehabilitating brain damage, and it will allow you to get back to work and make a good recovery. That is why most therapists urge their patients to continue exercising even when they are not present at the clinic.

Fortunately, there are home remedies, like FitMi, which can help you do exactly that. FitMi guides you to the best PT exercises in a fun and attractive way that encourages you to do the repetitions you need to improve motor control.

Vestibular training

After a brain injury, individuals may have problems with balance. To help you regain balance, your physiotherapist may ask you to participate in vestibular training.

A physiotherapist will perform several vision and evaluation tests during your vestibular training to determine if your problems originate with the inner ear (part of the vestibular system). Based on the test's results, they will create a customized exercise program to address your vestibular problem.

Gait training

Physical therapy may include job-related gait training to retrieve the ability to walk.

The functional specification is a crucial factor in the involvement of neuroplasticity, and it signifies that you must directly practice action to improve it. Therefore, therapists will enable you to practice walking movements to improve your walking skills. It is also known as gait training.

Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT)

Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT), a physical therapy intervention, prevents learned misuse after traumatic brain injury.

Learning impairment occurs when a person is overly dependent on the body part that is unaffected and thus avoids using the affected organs.

For example, if a brain injury touches a patient's right hand, they may tend to use their left hand for everything. Unfortunately, if this continues for a long time, the motor control in the right-hand drive may degrade until it stops working.

Aquatic therapy

Water treatment is a physical therapy intervention that happens in a hot pool. During a water treatment session, the therapist works with the patient while the patient floats or stands in the water.

Water buoyancy allows a person to participate in physical therapy with reduced stress on the joints, and it lets a person focus on completing their form. In addition, the viscosity of the water provides increased resistance to movement, which helps in increasing muscle strength and endurance.

Conclusion

Participating in physical therapy can help individuals regain mobility after traumatic brain injury. By focusing on repetitive exercise for targeted exercise, people can open up neuroplasticity and stimulate the brain to make dynamic changes.

You need to understand better ​​the various physical therapy and rehabilitation processes involved in treating a traumatic brain injury.