March is Brain Injury Awareness Month!
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. More than 5.3 million Americans are living with brain injury-related disabilities at a cost exceeding $76.5 billion (in 2010 dollars) each year.
Brain injuries often cause issues that JAS treats directly, like contractures, loss of motor function due to muscle weakness, and spasticity. A study published in 2022 reports up to 84% of persons with critical traumatic brain injury may develop contractures!
Movement is essential to keep the passive mechanical properties of soft tissue, like extensibility and length, and lack of movement can restrict joint range of motion. Spasticity and muscle weakness are both common primary motor impairments and often co-exist after an acquired brain injury. One study identifies spasticity as the main contributor to contractures in the first 4 months after stroke and thereafter muscle weakness.
Passive stretch has been the most widely used method to prevent and correct contractures. The observations that soft tissues undergo structural remodelling and elongate when subject to prolonged stretch underpin the rationale for using passive stretch for contracture management.
To learn more about how devices like the ones in the JAS Dynamic line can help those suffering from ROM loss due to Brain Injuries, read this article from Physio-Pedia.
Since many people with brain injuries rely on publicly funded services to fully participate in their communities, policymakers need to know your concerns about continuing those services in the ever-present face of budget cuts. Contact your legislators today and let them know you expect them to enact public policy to assist people with brain injuries.
How to Get Involved During Brain Injury Awareness Month
Talk with someone with a brain injury and listen to their story;
Share your brain injury story on your social media accounts using the hashtag #MoreThanMyBrainInjury
Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining to your community why they should care about brain injuries; and
Talk to your employer and businesses you patronize about their practices for recruiting and hiring people with brain injury.
Join the Brain Injury Association of America during the month of March to help raise awareness. Find out more about brain injuries and what you can do at biausa.org/raiseawareness today.