New study calls for brain injury to be considered an ongoing condition
From our work with clients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury (TBI) following an incident on the roads or via an accident at work, we recognise that quick intervention with targeted rehabilitation generates the best outcomes for patients. In other words, the quicker we can get in place a dedicated package of therapies for clients, the better their chances of living a meaningful life.
In a recent talk at our London offices, neuro trauma surgeon Ross Davenport (Senior Lecturer in Trauma Sciences and Consultant Trauma and Vascular Surgeon at the Royal London Major Trauma Centre) spoke very clearly of the need for private medical care and therapies to take over once the NHS has performed its miraculous emergency care. Without it, he said, a patient stands little hope of positive recovery.
Now, a commentary published in the respected Journal of Neurotrauma and reported in the Neuro Rehab Times has suggested that TBI be classed as a chronic condition needing ongoing care in a similar vein to diabetes, asthma, depression and heart failure.
The research challenges the perception that residual impairments from TBI plateau following initial recovery and do not change throughout the rest of a person's life. Rather, it says, the long term course of a TBI should be considered dynamic and subject to shifts, both backwards and forwards and therefore benefits from ongoing treatment and coordinated care, including self-management by the patient and their families.
One of the co-authors of the study said: 'We can improve life after brain injury with a more proactive approach and a longer-term view of brain injury as a chronic and dynamic condition.
“This approach anticipates changes overtime and incorporates strategies to optimise healthy living with coordinated care that is individualised for the lifetime needs of those living with brain injury.
“Recognition of TBI as a chronic condition would not only focus more resources on problems associated with living with brain injury but would also enhance both the public and professional awareness of how to optimise the health and well-being of people living with the effects of TBI.'
In our previous series of Insight pieces, we highlighted the challenge that brain injury is not necessarily immediately recognisable by people who don't know a person's history and can be misconstrued as rudeness or aggression. Accepting that a TBI changes over time may help generate understanding of the ongoing challenges of living with such an injury.
Read about our brain injury claims and hear from clients living with TBI.