Thinking Forward After A Traumatic Brain Injury

04/27/2026

Concussion care should never be approached as a one-size-fits-all. Sometimes symptoms are incorrectly tied to a diagnosis that is not brain injury related. Treatment for the symptoms may then not be beneficial.

I had no idea how much the injuries to my brain and neck after my concussion negatively affected my vision and balance (along with other things). Getting the right assessments and treatments significantly helped ease my symptoms (specifically neuro-glasses and chiropractic care).

I recently found a great post on LinkedIn by Sonia Vovan who is a Physiotherapist and Vestibular Therapist. I believe every person who suffers a concussion should have a vestibular consultation.

🧠 Sonia Vovan, Physiotherapist and Vestibular Therapist, Concussion Management and Vestibular Rehabilitation

A few patterns in concussion care that I wish we'd stop seeing.

After many years of clinical practice in vestibular rehabilitation and concussion management, and now as a PhD candidate researching s*x-specific differences in sensorimotor integration following concussion in working-aged adults, I continue to notice a persistent gap between what the evidence supports and what patients encounter in everyday care.

This outlines the specific patterns I see most often. What strikes me, collectively, is that closing these gaps doesn't require new science. It requires translating what we already know into consistent, individualized, multi-system care. It also requires recognizing that concussion recovery is shaped by factors we've historically underweighted in both research and practice, including s*x, hormonal status, the cervical spine, and the cognitive-motor demands of the environments people are returning to.

For clinicians, this means broadening assessment beyond symptom checklists and resting presentations. For researchers, it means continuing to build the evidence base around heterogeneity in recovery. For patients and those supporting them, it means feeling empowered to ask more specific questions about how their care plan reflects the complexity of their injury.

I'd welcome input from other clinicians, researchers, and those with lived experience. Which of these patterns resonates most with what you're seeing in practice?

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/soniavovan_concussion-vestibularrehabilitation-physiotherapy-activity-7452672561487998976-zXei?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAChz9rUB4CJ2jrGInBg6I3gwc-GSIRx4KZE&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=copy_link

04/08/2026

I felt the need to comment on this today. I’ll probably ramble. 😂 And it might sound funny or weird…

What if you woke up and you were no longer you is a powerful question. I think of obvious deficits or differences from my old self. Others might not notice, but they might after talking with me for a few minutes. I think of word finding, losing my train of thought, having a hard time following a conversation and needing things repeated, etc. Not a big deal, right? It is and it isn’t. It depends. It depends on the situation I’m in. I will tell you it is often embarrassing for me. I know what I am trying to say. I am listening to the person. I care. I know what I’m doing (You can have confidence in me, I promise! 😉).

There is almost always a question in the back of my mind: Was I like this before?

Am I that different than before my TBI?

Am I overthinking things? Of course I am…why wouldn’t I?! Now That I did before! 😂🙋🏻‍♀️

But, back to the question…am I really that different than before? Others who’ve known me for years before my TBI and now after my TBI tell me I’m a lot “different.” I’ve asked them to tell me what’s different. Telling me I’m “a lot different” makes me nervous. No one can really tell me or “put a finger on it.” Can you guess what happens next? You guessed it! I overthink! Sometimes I feel like a bad fraudulent check of my previous self! 😂 I think I said that right…feeling like a fraud. Does that make sense?

Imagine not knowing what is different about you now. Would you question how you’re perceived by others (like I said before)? I do. And it Sucks.

I want to feel like I “fit in,” that I’m perceived as “normal,” yet I want to still be me. Be whomever I was before the car accident (Whoever? Whomever? My little sister, Marley, the brainy sibling with a Masters in English, would know which to use…I don’t want to look it up right now 😂. My brain is tired.)? Who I still am? I forget who I was…or am.

Have I confused you yet? I confused myself 😂😉. Welcome to my world. Ha!

I want All of me to fit in, not just the pieces that fit into the “normal” puzzle (Boring…’The Office’ reference…PowerPoint is boring).

Just like everyone else, I want to feel like I fit in and belong. To be Accepted. Even better! We all want that. To be accepted.

Unfortunately trying to fit in and be perceived as normal is Exhausting, especially after a TBI. I already have zero battery reserve, so my effort to fit in drains me after a few hours (sometimes a few hours more, a lot of times less). What’s left after that? Meh…not much. Cue in a cat nap? 😴 I like naps…

Maybe my next step is to truly accept who I am right now and not worry or dwell about who I was or could be. Or maybe not worrying so much about how I am perceived by others…especially when that drains me, too! 😂🧠 If I achieve the potentially unachievable (ha)…does that mean I’ll need to find a hobby to tire me out instead?! In my opinion, I’m hilarious. 😆

Now that I’ve rambled…Can you relate? 🤔💭

Brain Injury changes everything...