Recovery of walking late after a severe traumatic brain injury

Watson, M. J. and Hitchcock, R. A. (2005) Recovery of walking late after a severe traumatic brain injury. Physiotherapy, 90 (2), 103-107. (doi:10.1016/j.physio.2004.02.004).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A young man aged 34 sustained a severe traumatic brain injury. Due to the severity of his injuries, functional recovery was initially delayed. Rehabilitative physiotherapy eventually commenced, and the subject began to make slow but steady gains in his physical performance. Gait in particular was slow to recover; independent walking over short distances was not achieved until more than 6 months had elapsed. This continued to improve over a period of approximately 550 days, before a performance plateau was reached. Later stage follow-up at approximately 10.5 years post-injury suggested that further changes in gait had however occurred in the intervening period. The case is provided as evidence that adults with brain injury can show delayed but sustained recovery of physical function. The clinical significance of these findings is discussed.

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