Expert Tips for Recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury
Any injury can be serious, and since childhood, you regularly get injured in various ways, so you stop worrying too much, but if a brain injury occurs, panic sets in because it is an extremely sensitive part of the body that must be protected. After all, all your vital functions depend on it. To better understand head injuries, it’s important to know the differences between a concussion and a contusion, as this knowledge can help guide appropriate care. Despite the injury, there are procedures that you can follow to improve your condition, and we have listed seven methods that you should use when you find yourself in these situations.
Medical help
The first and most basic thing that a person should do after a brain injury is to urgently contact the medical service that will come to check his or her condition and whether they have suffered major damage, such as bleeding on the brain. After the medical examination, the doctor will prescribe brain injury treatment programs that the patient must adhere to to recover as soon as possible and not cause even greater damage. For the patient to be able to receive all the medical treatments, it would be ideal to visit clinics that provide these types of services and treatments to make sure he gets everything he needs. There are two basic types of brain injuries, which are traumas caused by a direct blow to the head or body such as a concussions, contusions, skull fractures, bleeding, and the like. Another type of injury is non-traumatic, which is an injury in which the cause is not a blow or a fall. These diseases can be different, such as stroke, insufficient oxygen to the brain, infections, degenerative diseases, and others. Due to the seriousness and potential major consequences of these diseases, patients must recover in the best possible way.
Take a rest
One of the first pieces of advice that patients will receive from their doctors is to get adequate rest. The conditions they went through leave traces, and they will have to make an effort to leave their negative thoughts and rest. Bed rest will be mandatory for the first few days until patients show signs of being ready to advance to more advanced levels. Doctors can suggest staying in nature, away from city noise and the problems it brings, as well as regular use of prescribed medicines and hydration.
Eat healthily
Food is very important to restore cognitive functions. A well-known food for the brain is fish, which is rich in omega-3, which are three fatty acids that affect the development of our brain system. Omega-3 fatty acids affect the construction and protection of brain cells and directly affect your memory and learning. Nuts also have these benefits and are rich in vitamins E and B, as well as antioxidants that protect brain cells from damage. Fruits and vegetables provide the same function, while dark chocolate accelerates blood flow to the brain and improves cognitive functions. Choline is an essential nutrient that is important for brain development, and we can find it in eggs.
Get enough sleep
Sleep is extremely important for brain recovery because it is during sleep that the brain regenerates, that is, restores damaged connections and cells that were created during the injury, and any deviation from sleep only slows down this process, which is essential for recovery. Sleep also improves the mood that was disturbed during the brain injury, where stress dominates in the waking state and can easily lead you to a state of depression and difficulty, while during sleep, serotonin is released. After an injury, your concentration and cognitive functions are at a low level, and only during sleep are they restored and reformed.
Exercise
Exercising has a positive effect on the overall health of the body and brain. You must be careful when exercising and that the intensity of your exercise is proportionate to your injury and current condition, and that will be best determined by a medical expert who deals with such work. It is important that you gradually increase the exercise and that you listen to your body; that is, if you feel that you are tired and that you cannot do it, you should rest. Exercising increases circulation; that is, the heart pumps blood at a higher speed, and the brain receives more oxygen and other nutrients that it needs in such moments. It also improves the quality of sleep that you need for recovery, which means that you will fall asleep much more easily when you are tired during the day. A concussion can damage the centers for balance and concentration, and with regular exercise, you will be able to restore them. It is important that you avoid activities that may lead you to need it again, that when riding a bicycle, you wear a protective helmet, and that you do not forget to drink plenty of water before and after training.
Psychological support
After a serious injury, there is a high probability that the patient will fall into a state of depression and anxiety, which only prevents them from recovering and creates new problems that can be even worse for the quality of our lives. Sessions with a psychologist can help you focus your thoughts on recovery and improve the quality of your day, and he will help you find out all the useful information that is important for your recovery. Psychological counseling can create additional positive effects and restore your lost brain functions.
Return to daily routines
Sitting and resting all day will not contribute to anything important for recovery, and patients must slowly orient themselves toward returning to their old daily routines. Talking with friends, that is, socialization, is very important for preserving their mental health, which is compromised after a brain injury, and in post-injury situations, a barrier appears in people, and they begin to avoid their friends and family. This is an indication of the beginning of the development of depression and anxiety, and social games are also important for the development and recovery of cognitive functions and happiness hormones, which are important for good and quality recovery and mood.
A serious brain injury is followed by a long recovery, which consists of different phases that must be followed to achieve the fastest and most effective impression possible. We hope that this list was helpful to you, that you will be able to apply the mentioned methods in the right way, and that you will recover as soon as possible.
More Health Articles
