The stages of recovering from a brain injury

Brain injuries can be life-threatening and the road to recovering from an injury like this can be long. According to the latest data, someone is admitted to a hospital with a brain injury every 90 seconds in the UK. This highlights how common they are and with the nature of the accidents that cause them, anyone could suffer a brain injury like this at some point in their life. 

This is why knowing how to recover from a brain injury is imperative. This will give you or the person you’re nursing back to health the chance of a full recovery. To help, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide on the four stages of completing your recovery successfully. Read on to find out more.

Why is recovery so important? 

Our brains are vital organs that humans simply can’t function without. Should it become injured following an accident then you may sustain permanent brain damage, which can lead to the following: 

• Behaviour changes 
• Difficulty regulating emotions 
• Memory issues

What are the four stages of recovery?

You can expect your recovery to take up to two years depending on the complexity of your injury. Along the way you’ll need to do the following: 

Rest 

When your brain is injured, keeping cognitive function to a minimum for a few days after is a must to prevent further problems from arising. Try to get plenty of sleep, drink fluids and consume healthy foods to give your body the energy it needs to fight the injury.

Surgery 

More severe brain injuries will need surgery to prevent any lasting damage to the brain. Some common procedures that take place include: 

• Fluid drain 
• Tumour removal 
• Keyhole brain surgery 
• Craniotomy 

In some cases, surgery can make your brain injury worse, so it’s always wise to seek advice from brain injury claims experts to see if you could be owed compensation.

Brain injury rehabilitation

Cognitive and physical functions may be reduced after the injury and surgery. That’s why you may need to take part in the following to help get you back to normal: 

• Physical therapy 
• Occupational therapy 
• Psychological care 
• Speech and language therapy
• Social support

Returning to normal life

The final stage is preparing your body for normal life. You should only do this when you feel confident enough to work and interact with people. Your doctor may be able to give you some advice on when they think you might be ready too. 

When you are ready, try to take baby steps, so you don’t get overwhelmed. Eventually, you may able to go about everyday activities like you used to, which will be a real achievement that you can be proud of.