It needn’t be explained that the brain is the most fundamentally important part of our selves. It carries us, in practically every possible meaning of the word. From our simplest bodily motions to our deepest wants, our brain embodies us. Brain injuries, then, need treating with the gravity they deserve.
It is an unfortunate fact that there is at least one hospital brain injury admission every 90 seconds in the UK. It is another unfortunate fact that brain injuries can happen to any of us, and practically at any time. As well as physical trauma from falls and car accidents, brain injuries can occur as a result of illness, from serious viral diseases like meningitis to aneurysms and strokes.
The impacts of such injuries are many and varied, running the gamut in every conceivable sense. These impacts are the reason for which rehabilitation is an essential part of recovery, for brain injuries of any and every kind. What are the impacts of brain injury, and how can rehabilitation meet them properly?
Impact on Physical, Cognitive, and Emotional Functions
Given the sheer complexity of the brain as an organ, and given the sheer breadth of potential causes for brain injury, the impacts that brain injuries can have on us constitute an extremely broad field. Physical impacts beyond the pain of the injury itself can be found all around the body, though the nervous system is typically the most obviously affected; traumatic brain injuries can stress and even sever nerve connections, affecting mobility and motor function.
The impacts do not stop there, by any means. Injury to the brain can also have severe cognitive impacts, affecting everything from memory to learning and beyond. It is not uncommon for stroke victims to lose their ability to speak, read and understand others. There are also major emotional consequences for brain injury. On the surface level, struggling with things you could once do easily is cause for stress, anxiety and depression – but it is also the case that brain injuries can alter our behaviour and personalities.
The Role of Rehabilitation
Rehabilitation is a broad term here, but necessarily so. Recovering from a brain injury involves addressing physical fitness, emotional difficulties and cognitive issues – often simultaneously. Rehabilitation is the active exercising of these faculties to allow the best possible recovery.
While important, rehabilitation can get expensive. Where brain injuries were suffered as a result of negligent practice, brain injury claims are a viable and even necessary route to recouping costs and damages. These can cover some of the more costly rehab processes, or enable access to higher-level facilities; there can also be an emotional benefit, through getting some form of closure for the incident.
Improving Quality of Life
The essential role of rehabilitation is to improve the quality of life of the injured party. In many cases, there is no ‘going back to normal’ for someone who has suffered such an injury. Occupational therapies, speech therapies and guided sessions with a mental health specialist can all help a patient, in their own way, to regain the skills that will give them a more comfortable and accessible life.
