What is acquired/traumatic brain injury?
ABI, or TBI, arises from hypoxic damage (lack of oxygen) to the brain from a trauma. If this happens to a child under the age of two, it is referred to as cerebral palsy.
The brain is made up of nerve cells, and these send messages to each other, the central nervous system, and the muscles, telling them to move. TBI and ABI varies hugely among individuals, and the type and severity of a brain injury depends on the size of the brain damage and the location. Did you know there are over 100 billion nerve cells in the brain, with over 100 trillion connections? Because of this, no two people with a brain injury are the same, even if they have the same type of diagnosis.
We provide home visits for the children’s physio assessments, for comfort and peace of mind
A brain injury can cause a multitude of symptoms, varying among each person. The effects of a brain injury depend on the type, size and location of the brain damage. Some symptoms may include reduced balance, dizziness, paralysis, weakness, high muscle tone or hypertonia, spasticity, headaches, fatigue, loss of function and gross motor skills.
Our superheroes
BBP’s brain injury superheroes are brave, courageous and determined! They have been through challenges and have experienced many highs and lows during their rehabilitation. Our team understand the hard work and perseverance required to make a good recovery and will sometimes get in their own gym kit and join in the workout! Everyone needs to exercise, not just differently abled superheroes!
How can physiotherapy help?
The brain injury causes a reduction or cessation of the messages travelling to the muscles from the nervous system, telling the muscles to move. Weakness and paralysis are common. There is no damage to the muscles themselves though, and physiotherapy helps to rebuild the connections, to restore the messages and enable the muscles to work again. This can begin with a simple ‘flex’ or ‘contraction’ of a joint, working all the way towards resistance training. Each programme is tailored to the specific needs of the client and their family.
Function and participation
All of our short-term and long-term goals are aimed at long-term function and encourage family and friends to participate. We tailor programmes to our clients’ most important interests, whether that is playing a musical instrument, going on a family holiday, or dancing with their friends! One of our clients regained his ability to play football after his brain injury, and was thrilled to back on the pitch!
To find out how we can help your superhero, get in touch.