VOL 18 | NUM 2

2020

UAB Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Digital Newsletter

The University of Alabama at Birmingham Traumatic Brain Injury Model System ( UAB-TBIMS ) provides Brain Waves twice annually as an informational resource for people with traumatic brain injury ( TBI ).

UAB-TBIMS Program Director : Robert Brunner , MD Brain Waves Editor : Phil Klebine , MA

529 Spain Rehabilitation Center 1717 6th Avenue South Birmingham , AL 35233-7330 Phone : 205-934-3283 TDD : 205-934-4642 Fax : 205-975-4691 WWW . UAB . EDU / TBI

tbi @ uab . edu / UABTBIMS / UABTBIMS / UABTBIMS

The contents of this publication were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability , Independent Living , and Rehabilitation Research ( NIDILRR grant number 90DPTB0015 ). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living ( ACL ), Department of Health and Human Services ( HHS ). The contents of this publication do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR , ACL , HHS , and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government .

© 2020 University of Alabama Board of Trustees . The University of Alabama at Birmingham provides equal opportunity in education and employment .

After brain injury , spouses or partners are often caregiver that can lead to changes in roles and expectations for both partners . This can be stressful .

Researchers at the Virginia Commonwealth University Traumatic Brain Injury Model System Center looked at a newly developed shortterm couples ’ therapy program to find out whether it decreased unmet caregiver needs and whether or not they felt less burdened by their caregiving duties . The therapy , called the Therapeutic Couples Intervention ( TCI ), was found to improve relationship quality for couples .

Specifically , the researchers looked at two things .

1 . The percentage of needs that were completely met . They found

that the couples ’ in the TCI group reported an average of 22 % increase in met needs overall after the TCI . This increase was maintained at the 3-month follow-up . In contrast , the partners in

the comparison group reported no change in met needs .

2 . Caregiver burden scores . They found that the couples ’ in the TCI

group reported an average of 15 % decrease in caregiver burden after the TCI program . At the 3-month follow-up , their caregiver burden scores dropped by another 13 %. In contrast , the caregiver burden scores reported by the partners in the comparison group dropped by only 4 % over the course of the study . Read a complete recap here

A new study challenges the current perceptions that most people who suffer a concussion playing sports recover within 10 to 14 days . The recent study is published in the March issue of the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine .

The study looked the concussion recovery time of nearly 600 patients . More than 3 out of 4 were male , and their average age was 20 . About 7.5 % were under age 12 . Here are the key findings .

• 45 % of patients had recovered after 14 days . • 77 % of patients recovered after 4 weeks . • 96 % of patients recovered after 8 weeks .

• Recovery time was similar across all age groups .

• Recovery times were longer for female athletes and for patients with a history of migraine or mental health issues .

• Patients who delayed seeking medical treatment had a slower recovery .

These findings are important because current guidelines from the global Concussion in Sports Group state that nearly all sports-related concussions resolve within 10 days . Read the full study here The Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center has 2 new traumatic brain injury factsheets . Social Skills After Traumatic Brain Injury and Loss of Smell or Taste After Traumatic Brain Injury are available free to download .