Can the Brain Heal Itself After a Trauma?

If you or someone you care about has experienced a traumatic brain injury (TBI), you may be wondering whether the brain has the capacity to heal itself. In many cases, the answer is “yes.” Let’s discuss brain healing in more detail, as well as what you can do to assist in recovery.

The brain cannot replace damaged cells, or cells that are completely destroyed. But the brain does have a property called “neuroplasticity” that can lead to recovery. 

This property allows the brain to remap so that other parts of the brain can pick up the functions of the parts of the brain that were lost.

How much a person is able to recover, and how quickly, depends on the type and extent of the injury, as well as the age and condition of the person who was injured.

Following are some common types of brain injuries:

• Closed brain injury: This is a category of TBI which involves bruising and tearing, but the skull is not broken. 
• Open brain injury: If the skull breaks, and a foreign object enters the brain, that is an open brain injury.
• Stroke: A stroke is not technically a brain injury in and of itself. It refers to a medical emergency where the brain’s supply of blood is interrupted. But stroke can cause brain injury.
• Concussion: This is a type of mild TBI, and one of the most common types of brain injuries.
• Diffuse axonal injury (DAI): This is a type of injury that is characterized by torn nerve fibers.

There are other types of brain injuries as well.

The exact impacts of a brain injury can vary dramatically depending on the type and severity of the injury, as well as its location. The patient’s age and health also have an impact. Here are some possible symptoms:

• Coma.
• Cognitive changes such as reduced attention span, confusion, difficulties with problem-solving, etc.
• Motor deficits such as low balance, weakness, reduced endurance, spastic muscles, and more.
• Perception changes in sensory input, awareness of your body in space, and so forth.
• Difficulties with language and communication, including social challenges.
• Changes in sleeping and eating patterns.
• Headaches.
• Dizziness.
• Fatigue.

Not every person with a brain injury will experience all or even most of these symptoms. Note that brain injuries can also sometimes lead to complications. For example, cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage to fetuses and infants.

Following a traumatic brain injury, your doctor will tell you to initially try and get a lot of rest. You should not engage in activities that demand a lot of physical exertion, and you should do what you can to minimize your risk of further injury for a while.

Over time, you will be able to become more active. But you should ease back into your regular activities, rather than trying to go back to doing everything at the previous level right away.

Be aware that you may not be able to do certain activities right away for safety reasons, even though they are not physically demanding. For example, you may not be able to drive right away, since your reflexes may be affected by your injury. You also will need to avoid alcohol and drug use. It is also recommended to moderate your use of devices, and consider avoiding flying. 

In mild cases (like mild concussions), you may not have to do much in the way of rehabilitation. But for more moderate or severe brain injuries, you will need to participate in a personalized rehab program.

What goes into a rehab program for brain injury varies, but some examples include:

• Physical rehab (i.e. re-training walking)
• Self-care rehab
• Social and communication skill rehab
• Vocational training
• Etc.

The following factors can impede recovery from a brain injury:

• The patient being older
• Failure to get adequate rest
• Non-compliance with the rehab program
• Alcohol and drug use
• Re-injuring the brain (i.e. getting another concussion while playing sports, etc.)
• Certain other health conditions

Your doctor can go over a comprehensive list of things to do and things to avoid to facilitate your recovery. 

Earlier, we mentioned some types of brain injury rehab therapy. Let’s discuss some of these in a little more detail.

• Physical therapy: Patients may enter physical therapy to work on improving balance, endurance, strength, and range of motion. PT can also help patients to restore a natural gait or carry out everyday tasks more effectively.
• Speech therapy: For patients who have developed difficulties speaking and communicating following a brain injury, speech therapy can help to restore natural speech patterns.
• Vocational training: Sometimes a brain injury may lead to handicaps that make it hard to work. Vocational training is focused on helping people with brain injuries to return to work or find new work they can do.
• Psychiatric care: Patients may develop new psychiatric conditions following a brain injury, or existing conditions may become more difficult to manage. Psychiatric care can provide the mental wellness support patients need to improve and maintain their mental health. 
• Support groups: Patients can receive added support as well as practice with social skills and situations from support groups.

To make it easier to live comfortably and safely after a brain injury, you may need to make some changes to your home environment.

If you have developed difficulties with balance, for instance, some well-placed railings may help. If your vision has been affected, it may help to improve the lighting inside your home.

Along with changes to your environment, it can also help to make some adaptations to your activities to enhance their safety.

Say that your doctor says you need to be walking as part of your physical therapy after a brain injury.

One way you can improve your safety and walk more comfortably is to wear therapeutic footwear like Cadense shoes for stroke patients.

These shoes feature patented variable friction technology, which lets the feet “glide” over uneven surfaces even if you are having a hard time lifting the fronts of your feet.

They also are designed with wide bases for extra stability, cushioning for support, and light materials to reduce fatigue. Browse the collection to find the perfect fit for your foot and your wardrobe.