Road traffic accident is a common accident in Bangladesh. Every day it is very common to see on our TV channels. Some people die and some are severely injured who are becoming disabled people. According to a study conducted by the Accident Research Centre (ARC) of BUET, road accidents claim on an average 12,000 lives annually and lead to about 35,000 injuries. Among of injures include head injury, spinal cord injury, fracture etc. Head injury is the most common injury and Occupational Therapy is the best treatment for head injured patients.
Definition:
Head injury may be defined as damage to living brain tissue caused by an external mechanical force. It is usually characterised by a period of altered consciousness, amnesia or coma that can be very brief or exceedingly long.
Causes of Head Injury
l Traffic accidents
l Falls
l Physical assault
l Accident at home
l Traumatic birth
l Hypoxia
l Surgery
Symptoms of Head Injury
There are some sign symptoms of head injury which shows immediately or develop slowly over several hours. These are:
l Loss of consciousness, confusion, or drowsiness
l Low breathing rate or drop in blood pressure
l Fracture in the skull or face
l Severe headache
l Fluid drainage from nose, mouth or ears
l Dizziness
l Nausea and vomiting
l Blurry vision
Problems associated with head injury
Physical problem includes paralysis in both upper limb and lower limb; ataxia, extra pyramidal tremor and the person may have difficulty in gross motor skills and coordination (example: rolling, sitting, standing without support etc).
Sensorimotor disturbance is the problem that is associated with head injury. A person with brain injury may lose sensation in parts of the body or may be more sensitive in parts of the body or may be more sensitive to certain sensation. The person may also suffer from visual problem and impaired in hand function.
Some persons with head injury face disturbance in speech and communication with others. A cognitive deficit is a very common problem. It affects everyday life. Some problems include:
l Difficulty remembering things
l Remembering what you see, but not what you hear
l Difficulty to remembering important tasks
l Forgetting where you put things
l Difficulty recalling other people's names or recognising familiar faces
Other problems include psychosocial problem, personality change and behaviour disorder.
Treatment:
Treatment will depend on the type of head injury. It also depends on your overall health. Some treatments for head injury might include:
l Medications to prevent blood clotting or seizures
l Surgery to stop bleeding in the brain
l Therapy is also necessary for rehabilitation.
Among these therapies Occupational Therapy is one of best for improving the condition of head injury patients.
Occupational Therapy helps to solve the problems that interfere with your ability to do the things that are important to you. It can also prevent a problem or minimise its effects.
When an injury, illness, disability or other problems limit your ability to:
l Take care of yourself
l Participate in paid or unpaid work, or
l Enjoy your leisure time, e.g. hobbies, sports, spending time with family, then you may want to learn some new skills for the job of living from an occupational therapist.
Occupational therapists believe that occupations (activities) describe who you are and how you feel about yourself. If you are unable to do the things you want, or need to do, to live and enjoy your life, your general well-being may be affected.
Occupational Therapy (OT) Management
An Occupational Therapist works in following areas
a. Physical: OT work for improving functional fine and gross motor skills, normalise muscle tone, improving balance and coordination during doing daily activities.
b. Sensory: An Occupational Therapist works for normalising the sensation of a person with head injury.
c. Cognition and perception: Occupational therapists use different activities that increase the person's cognitive and perceptual skills.
d. Activities of Daily Living (ADLs): An Occupational Therapist works for making independent the person with head injury in all daily activities as much as possible. They do things because most of the head injured persons can't perform thei ADLs. These include dressing, eating, grooming, bathing, shopping etc.
e. An Occupational Therapist also works for improving social interaction, coping skill, leisure skills, money management and time management skills.
Prognosis
Physicians look at several indicators to predict the level of a patient's recovery during the first few weeks and months after injury:
l Duration of coma
l Severity of coma in the first few hours after the injury (as measured by the Glasgow Coma Score)
l Duration of post-traumatic amnesia (PTA)
l Location and size of contusions and hemorrhages in the brain
l Severity of injuries to other body systems
If you have any relatives with head injury, then please contact with a qualified Occupational Therapist who can rehabilitate the patients in their daily life. Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) is the only centre where this type of patients gets this facility. Please contact following address:
Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP), Savar, Dhaka.
Tel: (880)2 7745464/5; Fax: (880)2 7745069 email: contact@crp-bangladesh.org
CRP has also different Branch at Mipur-14, Dhaka, Sylhet, Chittagong and Barisal.
The writer is Occupational Therapist, Proyash, Savar Cantonment, Dhaka.
Email: rabeya1988@gmail.com
Head injury treatment thru\\\' Occupational Therapy
Rabeya Ferdous | Published: July 26, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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