The word rehabilitation has a great significance in medical terms. Be it addiction or injury, people need to rehabilitate to come back in their best form. Brain injury is one such condition where you or your loved one needs to rehabilitate after the necessary medical healing. Such a type of rehabilitation doesn’t limit to medical care but also needs support from family
Unlike most cells of our body, the cells in our brain don’t regenerate when they destroy. However, that doesn’t mean you cannot recover. Our brain is flexible and can recognize them to the extent that it regains lost function. The process is called brain plasticity.
During the recovery, other parts of the brain take over activities of the damaged areas. After this, the fresh nerve pathways establish by using undamaged brain cells. When you allow engaging in a medical activity, such an alternative pathway can develop.
The process of rehabilitation helps our brain know alternative ways to work and minimize long-term impacts of brain injury. The process of rehabilitation helps you or your loved one cope with other disabilities.
The timescale for recovery and rehabilitation
It is essential to understand when and how you need to get help for a traumatic brain injury. Within the first two months after the injury, doctors can imagine how long it will take to recover. It is a slow process and can take months or years.
Within the first six months, your doctor will be able to give you an estimated time. He also suggests a way to take care of the brain in the future and explain how things will be within the following months. Within a year, you get the complete idea of how the brain injury will heal and the progress till then. However, psychological recovery takes much more time. In most cases, families find the condition tough to cope with.
People discuss a limited ‘window’ for healing after a brain injury. For example, there might be no recovery after two years of time. However, this isn’t always definite and some people still continue to heal after the estimated span. Many people admit that they regained skills years after having a brain injury. The greatest progress will be visible within six months. After six months, the progress becomes slow and sometimes stops completely.
How to access brain injury rehabilitation services?
There are plenty of rehabilitation services that are run by both government and private firms. You need to consult your doctor to know where and what kind of service you need. Choosing the rehabilitation center that you can refer someone to will require a clinical team. The patient and significant family members need involvement to ensure that they are making the right move. Most rehabilitation centers are keen and welcoming towards their patients and family members. They will do their best in terms of assessment to evaluate if they can serve your purpose.
The cost and charges of such places differ and some of the costs might be covered by the insurance companies. Other sources of funding can be compensation claims, the local authority or self-funding.
How do rehabilitation centers help a patient with brain injury?
The rehabilitation process of brain injury occurs in the following settings:
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Inpatient rehabilitation
The inpatient rehabilitation process needs intensive specialist rehabilitation for the ones who cannot go home after hospital discharge. The neurological rehabilitation centers provide the perfect setting for such treatments. They have a structured rehabilitation process that they work on all through the day.
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Outpatient rehabilitation
Some patients can go home after their brain treatment. They can go ahead with outpatient treatment provided by any local hospital. There are also rehabilitation centers for such purposes and ensure a speedy recovery.
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Community rehabilitation
After receiving inpatient rehabilitation, some people need to shift to the residential transitional living unit. Here, they can develop independent living skills so that they can live in a place of their own. Other people go back to their home with a team of community rehabilitation or outreach teams that help them develop. It can involve people from home and community.
How can the family help recover a brain injury?
It is essential to consider the importance and role of family members to treat a brain condition. The family is an essential asset for a patient who needs support. They are an integral part of the rehabilitation process. The patient needs to recognize his family to communicate properly.
Family members can offer insights into the patient’s life, choices, goals, difficulties, and more. It is essential to assess and monitor the benefits of rehabilitation and reduce the difficulties of the patient.
You must be a support to the person who needs care and comfort. Brain injury is usually severe and tough to cope with. The patient and his family need to go through this rough time together to help speed up the recovery process.