The brain is made up of about 86 billion Neurons (special brain cells) and 85 billion other types of cells. This explains why the brain can start repairing itself even after a large amount of damage occurs.
How the brain works:
The brain is made up of Neurons, which are cells unique to the brain. These neurons create connections between different parts of the brain and also connects the brain to the rest of the body. How neurons work is each time a neuron needs to send a message an action potential, which is like a little electric sparks occurs sending information to the next neuron. In order to move, feel, think and live every single second millions of neurons are firing sending messages around the brain and around the body.
There are many different theories on how the brain learns. What we do know is that the brain has lots of different systems. For example, when we need to walk, all the different systems in the brain pull together to initiate the movement. Another part of the brain then monitors and tweaks the quality of movement. However our movements can also be influenced by how we feel. For example, maybe we are frightened and that changes how we might move compared to if we were resting on the couch then wanted to get up to get a drink from the kitchen.
How the brain learns:
The Brain learns via our experiences. When we want to learn we might observe and listen then try ourselves. But in order to improve or properly perform the skill it might take a lot of practice and repetition. It will require feedback and depending on the experience one might choose to persist or give up.
So how does exercising help the Brain recover?
When we exercise, it helps the brain to make new connections. Despite there being damage to the brain, similar to what an Electrician might do when repairing a fault in the network, we can create new pathways around the damaged area. However, by simply just ‘exercising’ or ‘doing an activity’ might not actually help you to master the skill.
In order to master a new skill you need:
- A Goal, the Right Environment and Motivation
- Repetition
- Practicing in a variety of different ways e.g. Faster, slower, noisy environments, multi-tasking…
How a physiotherapist can help…
- 1:1 Sessions – Re-teaching movements such as walking, reaching and grasping. – Providing correct and positive feedback – Hands on therapy to help guide you to move the right way
- Setting you up with tasks and home exercises to practice. Making sure each task and exercise is challenging enough to help you improve
- Helping with accountability
