Any injury can cause pain and have an impact on your day-to-day life but an injury to the brain can have some of the most long lasting effects and recovery (if it is at all possible) can take months or even years.
A brain injury can affect a number of areas within the brain which can then manifest as physical symptoms in other areas.
Perceptual
Damage to your ability to perceive things can take several forms. This could be damage that impacts on your sense of smell, touch, taste, hearing or vision. This could also impact on your ability to recognise pain (either being too sensitive or not sensitive enough).
Physical
Damage to the brain can have severe implications on your ability to move. This could be through muscle spasms, seizures or paralysis. This could also lead to difficulty communicating due to damage or impaired movement of the muscles in your face leading to slurred or impaired speech.
Cognitive
Following a brain injury showing signs of difficulty when it comes to processing information or following instructions could be a sign of damage to your cognitive functions. Damage to this area could also lead to memory loss or a shortened attention span, which could be detrimental to working life.
Behavioural
As a result of a brain injury someone might exhibit behavioural changes. These include (but aren’t limited to) irritability, inappropriate behaviour, heightened or diminished emotional responses.
Treatment & Recovery
Initial treatment usually involves treating the immediate cause of the damage to the brain, such as a skull fracture or a tumour for example.
Following this treatment various scans are carried out to assess any additional damage to the brain.
Medical professionals are often quick to point out that no two brain injuries are identical and the injuries one person suffers may not necessarily mirror those of someone injured in a similar way.
Recovery times will also vary based on the type of brain injury sustained and the severity of the symptoms. Some people don’t necessarily regain their full capabilities following the injury and in some cases treatment is more a case of providing support and counselling to someone as they readjust to life.
In some cases the injured party may need to pay for additional occupational therapy or for remodelling to their home to make life easier. This can be expensive and if the injuries sustained have made working impossible claiming for compensation (in the event of the injury being a result of negligence on someone else’s part) could be one way to secure the funds to comfortably carry on living and recuperating.
Infographic Source: Claim 500
Guest blogger
Our guest post blogspot features a wide and diverse range of guests who have written one-off blogs about different aspects of health and fitness. If you are interested in featuring on our guest blogspot, please contact us.
Join with Google
Join with Facebook