Brain Injury Recovery And Rehabilitation

Once a brain injury patient is safely out of the crisis phase, they must enter into the long, difficult process of recovery and rehabilitation. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unlike any other type of medical condition; once damaged, certain areas of your brain may never return to their pre-injury state. Because of this, the brain injury recovery process usually involves two separate steps:

• Successfully restoring the functions that can be restored
• Finding new ways of accomplishing tasks when functions cannot be restored

Your brain injury rehabilitation program should be designed based on your brain’s unique pattern of functional strengths and weaknesses after TBI

Factors Involved In Brain Injury Recovery

Many different factors can affect the degree of your improvement after brain injury, including:

• Which areas of the brain were affectedThe severity of the injuryYour age
• The severity of the injury
• Your age

Myths About Brain Injury Rehabilitation

Because brain injuries are so complex, there are several myths out there about the rehabilitation process. One of the most common myths is that all possible recovery will happen within the first year of rehab. This is simply untrue.

Research shows that the length of brain injury improvement depends on the extent of any given injury: the more severe it is, the more slowly you will recover. Many TBI victims continue to see improvement for years beyond their initial recovery period.

Another myth involves the idea of a “recovery plateau” – in other words, a point in time when you show no further improvement. When your rate of progress first starts to decrease, some brain injury therapists will terminate their services, believing you have stopped improving and there is no need to continue rehab.

While the most dramatic recovery progress does take place in the early stages of TBI rehab, the idea of a recovery plateau is faulty. Any improvement following your TBI will happen in fits and starts, and may often be interrupted by periods of little to no change – even regression.
Many so-called “plateaus” in the recovery process come just before a series of new increases in brain function. It is much more accurate to view brain injury rehabilitation as a long-term process that can show new developments at any time.

For further information, Duncan Firm answers common questions about brain injury. Our attorneys can also review your case for free when you complete the form on this page or call 877-638-6226.