How accident victims are coping with lasting effects of head injuries

Traumatic brain injury survivors face lasting cognitive and emotional challenges, but structured rehabilitation and ongoing monitoring can significantly improve long-term outcomes.

According to the University of Pennsylvania, approximately 2% of the population in the US is living with a disability resulting from a traumatic brain injury.

Most head injury survivors describe the hardest part of their injury not as the initial event that caused it, but rather the difficulties of what comes after they’ve been discharged from the hospital and the long-term impairments set in. 

Let’s look at some of the biggest challenges accident victims face when coping with head injuries and how they might deal with them.

The Lasting Effects of Injuries: What Head Injury Recovery Really Looks Like

Around 90% of people who sustain a traumatic brain injury will experience some form of cognitive impairment, according to the International Brain Injury Association.

They might experience difficulty with the following mental functions:

• Concentration
• Working memory
• Information processing speed

Tasks that used to be automatic now require much more deliberate focus. People often experience a sense of brain fog. They might experience difficulty planning, sequencing, and managing tasks.

These cognitive impacts can cause problems with professional and personal life, as once effortless tasks become difficult. 

There are also significant emotional challenges. About half of everyone who suffers a traumatic brain injury is affected by depression within the first year of the injury. Depression is partly neurological because of damage to the brain regions controlling emotion. 

Rehabilitation for Accident Victims: Medical and Therapeutic Approaches

Ongoing neurological assessment beyond the initial emergency is important as many serious and lasting effects of brain injury only become apparent weeks or months afterward. Ongoing monitoring is crucial to identify and track these symptoms.  

Some may experience memory loss after head injury complications, but that isn’t always the case. 

Evaluation can help accident victims and their families to map and track specific cognitive deficits, giving a concrete picture of what’s impaired and what remains intact in the brain.

Once the cognitive impact is apparent, rehabilitation therapies like the following can help improve brain function:

• Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapy, which has structured exercises and strategies to rebuild impaired cognitive functions.
• Speech-Language Therapy for survivors who have communication and language processing problems.
• Vestibular Rehabilitation for balance issues.
• Occupational therapy focuses on adapting daily routines and environments to current capabilities.

Managing Energy and Social Boundaries During Head Injury Recovery

While mental energy is a finite resource for everyone, those with traumatic brain injuries need to budget their energy more carefully because they tend to get overwhelmed and exhausted more easily. Reduce exhaustion by scheduling demanding tasks for the time of day when cognitive function is the highest, usually in the mornings, and always plan for rest throughout the day.

How Accident Victims Can Move Forward After a Brain Injury

As you can see, living with a traumatic brain injury is no easy path for accident victims and their families. It requires adjustment and adaptation. But by making use of these tools and strategies, traumatic brain injury victims and their families can live a less stressful life and reduce the impact of brain impairment.

If you’re interested in learning more about similar topics related to brain injuries, see the rest of our blog posts.