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Acquired Brain Injury

Empowering you with personalised neuro physio

What is an acquired brain injury?

An acquired brain injury is used to describe any injury to the brain that occurs after birth.  

Brain injuries can be categorised into: 

  • Traumatic brain injury – the result of a traumatic incident, such as a car accident, a fall or blow to the head.
  • Non-traumatic brain injury – refers to any non-traumatic injury to the brain that appears after birth.
Acquired brain injury Sunshine Coast

Causes

Some causes of acquired brain injury

Traumatic Brain Injury

Resulting after a knock or blow to the head including concussion

Hypoxic Brain Injury

Damage to the brain due to lack of oxygen such as near-drowning or a heart attack

Infectious Diseases

Diseases like meningitis and encephalitis can cause brain injury

Brain Tumour 

As a direct result of the tumour or a complication from treatment

brain injury sunshine coast

Symptoms of acquired brain injury

A brain injury can result in a vast range of symptoms, varying from person to person depending on what part of the brain has been damaged. Symptoms can range from mild to severe. 

Some of the challenges you may face when living with a brain injury:

  • Thinking or problem solving difficulties
  • Personality changes
  • Coordination issues
  • Continence issues
  • Memory problems
  • Speech difficulties
  • Muscle weakness
  • Fatigue

This list is by no means exhaustive as brain injuries can be incredibly complex and impact everybody differently, depending on what part of the brain is affected.

How we can help

Treatment for acquired brain injury

The complexity of brain injuries means treatment is best approached by a multi-disciplinary team to address the different challenges you might be facing. Your team may include a Neurologist, Rehabilitation Physician, Neurological Physiotherapist, Occupational Therapist, Speech Therapist and Neuropsychologist. This kind of teamwork will help you achieve the best results. 

Personal assessment

As neurological physiotherapists, we’ve worked with many people living with a brain injury. Your treatment always starts with a comprehensive personal assessment, where we listen to you to help us understand your particular situation and unique challenges. Knowing your story is essential for us to decide on the best way forward. 

Physical assessment

After we’ve heard from you, we will do a physical assessment to determine what you’re able to do, what you’re struggling with and how we can work with you to improve your function or support you with aids. A vital part of this assessment is to look at your potential to relearn particular functions and skills. Our ultimate goal is for you to have greater independence, and we will work with you on the best way forward.  

Physiotherapy

Rehabilitation or physiotherapy after an acquired brain injury is an important step towards recovery. Our treatment will be customised to your needs, based on your goals and on our assessment findings. It may include exercises aimed at improving mobility and function, balance and coordination to try and get you back to doing the things you enjoy. 

We can also help you with recommendations and applications for appropriate equipment, such as walking aids or electric trikes.

Link: Physiopedia 

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