Traumatic Brain Injury and Exercise Success



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Traumatic brain injury (TBI) may be due to a bump, blow, jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts normal brain function; it presents an ever growing, serious public health problem that causes a considerable number of fatalities and cases of permanent disability annually.1 It has been estimated that about 1.7 million citizens of the US sustain TBI annually, while a recent National Registry based study reported about 250 per 100,000 individuals are inflicted annually.1 TBI diagnosis covers a wide range of short-term and long-term impairments in physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional domains depending upon injury extent, severity, and location.1 People with TBI report high rates of depression, anxiety, and diminished quality of life.2  Surprisingly, there has been little research on the benefits of exercise of individuals with TBI.

It has been proven that those who exercise regularly experience a multitude of health benefits such as: increased muscle mass, increased cardiovascular endurance, increased energy boost, better sleep, as well as decreases in stress and depression. Individuals with TBI may experience some if not all of these health benefits with regular exercise. Every TBI is different and exercises should be tailored to meet the individual needs of the client in order to maximize benefit in a safe environment. Exercise induces direct change in cerebrovasculature that produce beneficial changes in cerebral blood flow, angiogenesis and vascular disease improvement.1 The improvements induced by physical exercise regimes on brain plasticity and neurocognitive performance are evident both in healthy individuals and those affected by TBI.1

When starting a new regime try to avoid busy crowded locations as it may be easier to focus and not inflict self-doubt. If memory is a challenge bring a partner to go on long walks or bikes with. Try and target large muscle groups with low impact activities such as swimming. The possibilities are endless when improvements are goal orientated. Weather you have a TBI or are considered “healthy”, the long term benefits are the same.

References

1Archer, T. (2011). Influence of Physical Exercise on Traumatic Brain Injury Deficits: Scaffolding Effect. Neurotoxicity Research Neurotox Res, 418-434. doi:10.1007/s12640-011-9297-0

2Wise, E., Hoffman, J., Powell, J., Bombardier, C., & Bell, K. (2012). Benefits of Exercise Maintenance After Traumatic Brain Injury. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 93(8), 1319-1323. doi:10.1016/j.apmr.2012.05.009