Month: June 2023

Strategies for Maximizing Your Return to Full Functional Capacity

In the aftermath of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), your first concern is often about your physical abilities. Can you reasonably expect a full return of physical functionality? What can you do to improve your chances of full functional restoration? Let’s look at some of the ways you can help your brain restore its connections with your physical abilities.

Do the Right Things to Trigger the Benefits of Neuroplasticity

As we mentioned in an earlier blog, your brain has a remarkable capacity to reroute neural signals through a process known as neuroplasticity. By doing the right things, you can help your brain rewire and create new neural pathways, helping you restore physical abilities. To maximize the effects of neuroplasticity, you want to engage in rehab or therapy that targets specific body parts and functions. The more you repeat those exercises or functions, the greater the benefit. Additionally, you want to be continually pushing yourself to do more. Expect that you’ll occasionally plateau, but keep moving forward.

Research has also shown that mental imagery can be effective in promoting neuroplasticity. Visualize the functions you want to restore and you may discover that you’re making better progress at them.

Eat the Right Foods

There are specific foods that feed the brain—a diet rich in fish, eggs and dark, leafy greens is recommended. Make certain you get plenty of vitamin B12, and use walnuts as your go-to-snack.

Don’t Limit Your Therapy to the PT Center

While it’s helpful to work directly with physical therapists and assistants, you’ll make more progress if you commit to doing your exercises at home as well.

Get Plenty of Sleep

Studies consistently show that sleep is critical in restoring brain and body functions after a TBI. Get into the habit of going to bed and getting up at the same time every evening and morning. If possible, avoid taking naps during the day that will interfere with your sleep at night. Minimize your use of or access to any type of screen. They all contribute to poor sleeping habits.

Contact Core Medical Center Today

At Core Medical Center, with offices in Blue Springs, Missouri, we can help you put together a comprehensive program to maximize your physical recovery after a traumatic brain injury. Contact us online or call our offices at (816)226-9957 to schedule an appointment.

Is It Possible to Return to Your Pre-TBI Condition?

When you’ve suffered any type of bump or blow to the head, whether it was mild or severe, one of your first questions or concerns will be about your prognosis for full recovery. Can you heal completely after trauma or injury to your brain? Can you expect to restore full functional capacity after a head injury?

The Prospects for Full Recovery from a Traumatic Brain Injury

When addressing the likelihood of a complete recovery from a TBI, it’s important to consider two different ways of measuring that. First, can your brain heal and return to the exact state is was in before the accident? Second, if that’s not possible, can your brain make accommodations that allow you to return to full functionality?

Unlike many other cells in your body, your brain’s cells cannot regenerate and cannot repair themselves. Accordingly, your brain won’t ever return to its pre-TBI condition.

That’s not, however, cause for despair or loss of hope. That’s because your brain has an amazing capacity to do what you might consider to be “workarounds.” You have more than 100 trillion neural connections in your brain. A TBI will typically interfere with or impede some of those connections, which can initially manifest in a number of physical, cognitive or emotional challenges. Though certain neural pathways may become weakened or destroyed, your brain uses a process known as “neuroplasticity” to create new connections.

What Is Neuroplasticity?

Neuroplasticity refers to your brain’s potential for rewiring, establishing new circuits by which information is transmitted. Studies show that a number of factors contribute to your brain’s ability to engage in effective neuroplasticity—your experiences, your environment, and any new learning you do.

Can You Aid Your Brain’s Efforts to Generate New Pathways through Neuroplasticity?

Absolutely! Physical and occupational therapy, rehabilitation and similar regimens all help the neuroplasticity process. Among the most important components of any therapeutic effort to maximize neuroplasticity are repetition, specificity and intensity. Target specific tasks or functions, repeat the exercises on a regular basis, and continually challenge yourself.

Contact Core Medical Center Today

Take action today to learn how you can return to maximum functionality after a traumatic brain injury. To learn more, contact Core Medical Center online or call our offices in Blue Springs, Missouri, at (816)226-9957.

Workers’ compensation cases can be complex, time-consuming, and costly for both the injured worker and the employer. However, with a comprehensive care approach like the one offered at Core Medical Center, workers’ compensation cases can see significant cost savings while still providing high-quality care for the injured worker. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of a comprehensive care approach for workers’ compensation cases and how it can lead to significant cost savings.

The Comprehensive Care Approach at Core Medical Center

At Core Medical Center, we believe that a comprehensive care approach is essential for successfully managing workers’ compensation cases. Our approach includes:

1. Multidisciplinary care team and specialist network: We bring together a team of skilled medical professionals, including physicians, physical therapists, and in-office case managers, to develop a personalized treatment plan for each injured worker. Additionally, we have a network of other specialists who work directly with Core Medical Center, allowing patients to be seen faster and receive comprehensive care from specialists that are less common in the workers’ compensation space. This ensures that all aspects of the worker’s care are addressed, reducing the need for multiple providers at multiple locations with multiple admin staff to communicate with, thus streamlining the treatment process.

2. Full spectrum of care: Core Medical Center offers a wide range of services that cater to the diverse needs of injured workers, including acute urgent care for immediate injuries, physical therapy, interventional pain management, in-office surgical procedures and referrals to network partners for other surgical procedures, post-surgical rehabilitation, behavioral health needs, chronic pain programs, work hardening, work conditioning, Functional Capacity Evaluations (FCE), and traumatic brain injury programs.

3. Early intervention: We understand the importance of early intervention in workers’ compensation cases. By addressing injuries promptly, we can help prevent the development of chronic pain and other long-term complications, ultimately reducing the cost of care.

4. Evidence-based treatment: Our team at Core Medical Center uses evidence-based treatments that have been proven to be effective in managing various types of workplace injuries. This ensures that the injured worker receives the most appropriate care, minimizing the risk of unnecessary treatments and reducing costs.

5. Focus on return-to-work: We prioritize helping the injured worker return to work as soon as it is safe and appropriate. By focusing on functional improvement and providing the necessary support, we can help reduce the duration of disability and the associated costs.

6. Streamlined communication: Our comprehensive care approach simplifies communication for case managers and adjusters. They only have to communicate with our clinic to receive all the information they need in a timely manner, reducing the time spent on coordinating care and increasing efficiency.

Cost Savings with a Comprehensive Care Approach

By implementing a comprehensive care approach for workers’ compensation cases, Core Medical Center has achieved significant cost savings for employers and insurers. These cost savings can be attributed to several factors:

1. Reduced medical costs: With a streamlined, multidisciplinary care team and a network of specialists, medical costs are reduced as there is less need for multiple providers and duplicate services.

2. Shortened disability duration: Our focus on early intervention and return-to-work helps to minimize the duration of disability, reducing the costs associated with wage replacement and other benefits.

3. Decreased litigation costs: A comprehensive care approach that prioritizes communication and collaboration can help to resolve disputes more efficiently, reducing the likelihood of costly litigation.

4. Improved outcomes: By providing evidence-based treatments and a personalized care plan, we can help injured workers achieve better outcomes, reducing the likelihood of long-term complications and the associated costs.

5. Increased efficiency: Streamlined communication reduces the time spent by case managers and adjusters on coordinating care, allowing them to focus on other essential tasks