Brain injuries and strokes can be devastating. They not only drastically change the life of the patient, but also their loved ones. If you have been in an accident or suffered a stroke that caused a traumatic brain injury, there are innovative treatments available to assist in recovery. At Brain Fitness Centers of Florida in Palm Harbor, we specialize in effective, state-of-the-art traumatic brain injury (TBI) rehabilitation methods.
How Brain Injury Rehabilitation Training Can Help
Brain injuries affect a variety of cognitive functions—from memory to spatial awareness. But brain injury rehabilitation can significantly help individuals recover those functions in a variety of ways.
Memory
All traumatic brain injuries are different, but many involve some impact on memory—ranging from mild to severe. A variety of brain injury rehab exercises can help to improve memory encoding, retrieval and overall management. Over time, these exercises can help brain injury survivors rebuild the ability to better retain and recall information.
Attention
Brain injury victims may experience attention deficits in various forms—including sustaining attention, focusing on tasks, and filtering distractions. With brain injury rehab, patients use repeated, structured exercises to enhance their attention in order to better perform daily tasks.
Brain speed
TBIs often result in reduced brain speed, or processing speed, which results in slower response times. This, in turn, can affect speech, physical movement and a variety of other crucial functions. TBI rehab can help increase this speed, through the practice of tasks that require quick decision-making, information processing and reaction times.
People skills
A brain injury can result in decreased capacity for social interaction, emotional processing, recognizing social cues and overall communication. TBI rehab can help here, too—helping patients regain confidence and comfort in social settings.
Intelligence
Intelligence is a broad concept, but some elements—including problem-solving, reasoning and abstract thinking—can be compromised after a traumatic brain injury. Proper brain injury rehabilitation can help patients here by improving cognitive flexibility and reasoning.
Navigation
Patients with traumatic brain injuries often struggle navigating, both spatially and cognitively. This can result in spatial disorientation, getting lost or having difficulty navigating based on directions. With help from brain injury rehab, patients can improve navigation skills in a variety of ways.
Raising The Bar On Brain Injury Rehab In Florida
Our medical professionals focus on the most effective traumatic brain injury treatments available. We have raised the bar, using advanced brain training that essentially “works out” the brain and helps improve its overall fitness.
The design was led by Dr. Michael Merzenich, a professor emeritus in neurophysiology, a member of the National Academy of Sciences, co-inventor of the cochlear implant, and Kavli Prize laureate. His international team included neuroscientists who developed the game we use to help traumatic brain injury victims regain function.
How Our Florida Brain Injury Rehab Center Works
Our brain injury rehab strategy uses the same approach as physical workouts. It focuses on exercising key brain functions including memory, attention, brain speed, people skills, intelligence and navigation.
The process starts with a thorough assessment and evaluation, using state of the art equipment. Our team then interprets these personalized results and reviews the findings with each patient. This leads to a customized neurocognitive (brain-training) program tailored to each individual’s needs. From there, extensive one-on-one coaching is provided by BFCF staff in a structured setting, ensuring optimal results. Progress is continually monitored, so that individual programs can be fine-tuned if necessary, in order to provide the best outcome.
Through these challenging, effective brain exercises, patients help their brain become sharper. According to Dr. Merzenich, the brain is capable of continuously undergoing positive change. Using cutting-edge exercises (what we call cognitive training) and the right behavioral approaches suited to each patients’ needs, we encourage this positive change. This brain injury rehab game took 30 years of research in neurological science and related medicine to design.
At the end of the program, progress is assessed, and the team reviews the results of testing and training with each patient. Periodic office visits with the doctor allow cognition to be monitored to ensure the best possible functional outcomes and quality of life.
How Does Cognitive Training Work with Effective Brain Training Exercises?
The cognitive scientists who developed this traumatic brain injury rehabilitation brain exercise system have taken the most powerful findings to make the most effective exercises. They go above and beyond baseline cognitive training, by starting with the basics of a patient’s cognitive function, then improving the speed and accuracy of sensory perceptions. This, in turn, improves attention.
We then slowly add more building blocks to the patient’s brain recovery; for example, working memory, which ties to immediate memory, delayed memory, episodic memory, executive function, reasoning, speech and language, visual-spatial skills, etc. Through this “bottom-up” approach, cognitive training becomes more effective—because it doesn’t just focus on practicing problems over and over again. Through our process, the brain is constantly engaged and challenged so it adapts to meet those challenges.
Tailor-Made Brain Training In Palm Harbor, Florida
While our brain training takes effort, the exercises are often fun. Each patient receives customized treatments to provide a useful, meaningful workout specific to their needs and recovery. A special algorithm adapts the difficulty of each exercise as the treatment continues. This allows for continually optimized training, so every session helps improve performance.
This process reduces frustration and provides positive results that encourage patients to want to continue and reach their goals. Each patient receives a specific treatment approach using the key functions of the brain affected by their injury or stroke. In most cases, the categories overlap—such as memories and attention. For example, the better a patient’s ability to pay attention, the more they’ll be able to remember. Brain speed also contributes to memory as it helps people process information faster and therefore absorb more details.
Do These TBI Workouts Actually Work?
There are over a hundred journal articles supporting the effectiveness that Posit Science brain training exercises have on normal aging adults. Here are some findings:
- Improves key standard measures of cognitive function including speed and accuracy of processing, attention, and memory
- Improves key standard measures of quality of life including health-related quality of life, feelings of control, and functional independence
Few other brain injury rehabilitation companies have conducted such thorough or unbiased research.
What Types of Brain Injuries Does The Palm Harbor Facility Treat?
Brain fitness for cognitive rehabilitation encourages overall cognitive function and memory retention. We successfully assist patients who experience:
- Cognitive decline following chemotherapy commonly referred to as chemo brain
- Memory loss and impairment due to accident or injury
- Rehabilitation following a brain injury or surgery
- Cognitive repair following a stroke
- Hormone-related “brain fog” caused by menopause, hypothyroidism, and more
We offer brain training for people of all ages whether or not they have suffered a brain injury or stroke. Our cognitive rehabilitation program provides brain fitness using an interactive and engaging tool to reduce frustration and improve patient compliance.
Treat A Traumatic Brain Injury with Comprehensive Rehab
If you would like more information on the treatments available for you or a loved one, reach out to our team today at 727-608-7378 or contact us online.