Therapies

Therapies for TBI

Below is a list of therapies I have tried or heard of for TBI. Note that every brain injury is different, and there is not one definitive care plan for all TBI patients. What worked for me may not work for you. What didn’t work for me may work for you. Check with your doctor before you try any of these.

1. Physical Therapy (PT)

PT focuses on promoting, maintaining, or restoring health through patient education, physical interventions, and health promotion. PT has been instrumental in helping me regain range of motion in my neck from the whiplash. My physical therapist has provided me with a smoother trail towards recovery by working on visual recall, strengthening my neck muscles, and improving my balance.

I also went through Vestibular Therapy with PT. Vestibular Therapy is a specialized physical therapy program created to improve balance and reduce dizziness by using customized exercises that retrain the vestibular system. This therapy helps manage symptoms like vertigo, imbalance, and nausea, leading to benefits such as improved vision stabilization, reduced risk of falling, and better coordination. I tried this therapy in the beginning, and I couldn’t tolerate it. I went back to it nine months after the fall and have been more successful in regaining balance and managing my vertigo symptoms. I still have to talk myself out of dizzy spells a few times each day, but the spells are getting shorter. My physical therapist encourages me to keep my eyes open when movement makes my stomach twist, so I can teach my brain to accept these movements and not freak out. My instinct is to close them to get my bearings, and I have difficulty changing this habit.

2. Speech Therapy

People use Speech Therapy as a form of treatment to help improve their communication and swallowing abilities. It addresses issues like difficulty speaking clearly, understanding language, or controlling one’s voice, and can also help with swallowing disorders. Speech therapists can also use cognitive stimulation exercises to challenge and strengthen memory functions. These exercises may include memory games, puzzles, and activities that focus on attention, recall, and recognition. My physical therapist was including some of these exercises in our sessions to help my memory and recall, which are not at their best. 

I started Speech Therapy late in my recovery. At first, it upset me to realize how awful some of my cognitive deficits really were. I am competitive and get angry about how poorly I performed on these tests of memory and attention. The Speech Language Pathologist (SLP) and I have worked on the memory piece as well as logic and organization. I like to be a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of woman, but I am now having to organize my time so I am not spinning around trying to figure out what to do next. I didn’t realize that having a routine in my life would decrease anxiety and stress to promote brain healing. 

3. Vision Therapy

Vision Therapy is a doctor-supervised program of vision exercises created to improve visual skills and abilities that may be lacking, such as focusing, eye-hand coordination, and how the eyes work together. It uses tools like therapeutic lenses, prisms, and filters to address problems with depth perception. The goal is to strengthen the brain-eye connection through neuroplasticity, which can lead to improved performance in everyday tasks like reading and sports, as well as greater confidence and success. I am just starting this therapy now. I have been prescribed special glasses with prisms in them that my optometrist says will be a game-changer. Then she will work on my light sensitivity in February 2026. I will keep you updated.