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Patient Information

Cerebral Palsy

Multiple Sclerosis

Spinal Cord Injury

Stroke

 

Traumatic Brain Injury

Chapters

What is Traumatic Brain Injury?

Types of Traumatic Brain Injury?

Consequences of Traumatic Brain Injury

Rehabilition

What is Baclofen?

What is ITB Therapy?

The Test-Dose

The Surgical Procedure

The Follow-Up Procedure
including Refill

The Synchromed II Pump

Rehabilition

The goal of rehabilitation is to help regain the highest level of independent functioning as possible whilst learning how to perform tasks and activities differently when functions cannot return to pre-injury levels.

No two brain injuries are alike and their impact on unique individuals' means that treatments and therapies are specific to the individual and they alter over time according to the individual's changing needs and circumstances. Timing of an intervention is important since the many dynamic underlying processes occurring during the recovery phase of a brain injury means that the timing of the intervention, choice of the intervention, can determine that intervention's likelihood of success.

In rehabilitation, many therapies attempt to improve specific functional abilities or activities based upon the assumption and agreement of the patient that those activities are a major source of life satisfaction and increasing that activity leads to an improved quality of life.

The quality of life satisfaction depends on the unique and personal individual values of the patient. Life satisfaction after TBI is associated with a better physical function, increased independence and gainful employment. In addition, patients' global improvement in quality of life is reported to increase with an early discharge to their home and to be able to participate in meaningful leisure activities including visiting friends and family as well as entertaining. Patients have reported unhappiness in their limitations of independent travel beyond walking distance and limited ability and frequency for overnight trips; they desired greater community mobility and self-care independence. An improvement and ease in nursing, mobilisation, physiotherapy, pain relief, walking ability, seating position all help to provide better comfort for the patient.

Intrathecal baclofen therapy is one such interventional therapy that allows the multidisciplinary rehabilitation team, in appropriate patients, to manage severe spasticity and spasms that may compromise the patients' ability to fully improve their function allowing the opportunity to realise better life satisfaction.

tbi suffer brentBEGAN
RECEIVING
ITB
THERAPY:
Age 21

HISTORY:
The brain injury was
a result of a motor vehicle accident in 1988. Brent experienced severe spasticity in his left arm and leg as a result of the brain injury. He also
experienced strong, unexpected kicking and jerking (spasms) in his leg.

OUTCOME AFTER RECEIVING ITB THERAPY: Spasticity significantly reduced; has 90% control of his leg; able to walk with quad canes and climb stairs by himself; has returned to drawing, playing the drums, and socialising; has enrolled in college.

COMMENT: “Before the pump, I was a mess. I just thought life was useless. Now my head's clearer, I'm walking better, and I'm doing things I want to do.”