They are currently conducting research to evaluate the effectiveness of these and other methods. As many as 2,000 Nova Scotians suffer a brain injury each year, resulting in varying levels of impaired motor and cognitive function. On average, survivors regain 70 to 80 percent of their former level of function. It can take six to nine months, or longer, to achieve this level of rehabilitation. Traumatic brain injuries can be caused by sports, car and other accidents, as well as by infections, tumours, aneurysms, and deliberate acts of violence.
Strokes also cause brain injury, although the statistics are tracked separately.
Traumatic brain injuries are most likely to happen to young people between the ages of 18 and 25. The effects of brain injury can last a lifetime, so the cumulative number of families and individuals living with brain injury is greater every year. Brain injury can change the way a person thinks, feels and behaves, and have negative impacts on their personal, professional and social lives. Timely and appropriate intervention and rehabilitation can reduce these impacts and assist people in living independent, productive and happy lives.