The Necessary Balance and Coordination Therapy After a TBI

Balance and coordination have to do with your body’s natural ability to stabilize itself and perform the physical tasks you require of it. They allow a person to sit up straight, stand up, and even to walk with minimal risk of falling.

• What do we mean by balance and coordination?
• How can a traumatic brain injury impact your balance and coordination?
• Which therapies are best for helping to restore a natural gait following a TBI?
• What role does paralysis play in your recovery following a brain injury? 

What Do We Mean By Balance and Coordination?

Balance and coordination have to do with your body’s natural ability to stabilize itself and perform the physical tasks you require of it. Balance helps a person to sit up straight, stand up, and even to walk with minimal risk of falling. 

Balance and coordination are necessary to walk with a natural gait, step over obstacles, go up and down stairs, and even stand up and sit down without the risk of a fall. The more severe your brain injury, the more these processes can be impacted by the trauma. 

How Can a Traumatic Brain Injury Impact Your Balance and Coordination? 

When the brain experiences trauma, it can affect communication in the central nervous system (CNS). Because the CNS is how your brain communicates with the rest of the body, this can impact both your coordination and balance. Here are some factors that will determine how severe the effects are after the injury.

• The severity of the injury – The more damage the brain sustains, the more likely a part of the brain that affects your coordination or balance will cease to function correctly. 
• The location of the injury – Unfortunately, even an injury that did not seem that serious could have widespread effects if it is precisely in a part of the brain that controls things like movement or balance. 
• Other corresponding injuries – Trauma that causes a head injury may also damage other parts of the body. Injuries to the spine, arms, legs, ears and other parts of the body can also make balance and coordination more difficult. 
• Medications – Some medications may be necessary to help with other effects from the trauma. Unfortunately, some of these medications may impact your coordination or balance as a side effect. Your doctor will help you determine if the benefits of the medicine outweigh its impact on your body. 

What Therapies Are Best for Helping to Restore a Natural Gait Following a TBI?

If you want to improve your balance and coordination following a traumatic brain injury, there are a number of ways to do it. However, there are a few concerns. For example, when you are working on your balance, you are at the highest risk of a fall. A fall can lead to more extensive injuries that cause a setback in your progress. Therefore, you want to exercise and receive physical therapy in the safest ways possible, especially when it comes to retraining your gait. With that in mind, here are two of the best ways to work on your balance and coordination.

• Physical therapy – A physical therapist will help you to exercise in a safe manner, supporting you as you work on your balance. You may even receive some recommendations for exercises that you can safely perform at home. When working on balance on your own or with a caregiver at home, it is best to perform the activities seated to reduce the risk of a fall. You can work on being able to walk with a natural gait when you are with a trained professional, at least until you walk safely on your own.
• Lokomat therapy – This device can make the early stages of your rehabilitation even safer, and iAM ABLE is the only neuro rehab center in Miami that has one. It involves a harness that unweighs the patient and an exoskeleton that walks on a treadmill with a steady gait. The physical therapist can adjust the share of the work between the patient and the device. This allows a TBI survivor to practice walking regardless of the extent of the injuries – even if there is some paralysis.

Finding the Best Neuro Rehab Center in Miami  

If you are looking for a state-of-the-art neuro rehab center in Miami, then iAM ABLE is the place for you. We have the only Lokomat Pro in southern Florida. Our highly-trained physical therapists specialize in assisting patients with some degree of paralysis. Our focus is on restoring as much function and independence as possible for our patients. 

We also want to assist traumatic brain injury survivors to prepare mentally for the challenges involved with recovery and therapy. To that end, we are proud to offer our eBook, 7 Unbelievably Important Steps to Take to Thrive After Paralysis. While many TBI survivors will fully recover the ability to walk, being able to accept a long recovery and the potential for ongoing effects is a must. Even if your life is never the same again after your injury, that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. 

iAM ABLE is helping patients to maximize their recovery outcomes and independence. So check out our facility, and don’t forget to read the eBook to get your journey started the right way.

Grab our free e-book 7 Unbelievably Important Steps to Take to THRIVE after Paralysis by clicking the image below.