Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI) are often called invisible wounds, and with good reason. Emerging research is continuing to show the harmful long-term symptoms associated with TBI. While many people who haven’t experienced it may brush it off, mental fatigue is one of the most difficult symptoms to deal with after a TBI. A recent article out of the Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine looked at the prevalence of long-term mental fatigue after TBI and its impact on employment status. Not surprisingly, researchers found that TBI-related mental fatigue can have a negative impact on a person’s ability to remain gainfully employed.
TBI Related Mental Fatigue and Employment Status
The results of the study, conducted at the Department of Clinical Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden, found that long-term mental fatigue was frequent in people who had experienced a TBI, and a higher rating on the Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS) was associated with decreased employment status. According to researchers, rating on the MFS was higher for women, for those with a longer initial duration of acute post-traumatic brain injury symptoms, and for those who had previously experienced a TBI. The study didn’t find any association between mental fatigue and age, severity of injury or time since injury.
Long-Term Impact of TBI Symptoms
New research about the long-term impacts of TBI is emerging on a regular basis. The more we learn about TBI, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) and other brain injuries, the more we can understand how to support people who have suffered from these types of head injuries. Just about every new piece of research reinforces what many of us have suspected all along. TBI symptoms are longer lasting and more impactful than the medical community previously thought. Part of supporting people suffering with TBI symptoms is listening to them and making sure they have the compensation they deserve to get on with their lives and continue their recovery, which in many cases, can be a lifelong battle.
Alexander Law Group, LLP is always ready to answer questions and share the results of our research and experience with the public. Our goal is to make a difference for our clients and our community.
