When Coulthursts ambassador James Cracknell OBE was recovering from his traumatic brain injury (TBI) after a road accident, he was informed by doctors that all his progress towards recovery had to be made within the first three years, and that there would likely be no cognitive and physical improvements thereafter.

That was just 15 years ago and how things have change, as there is growing evidence that continuing revolutionary treatment methods can make a difference to TBI patients over a period of many years.

Now, in his latest film for Coulthursts, James has learned more about the advances that are being made in the field of brain injury recovery while meeting two inspirational women who are helping to rebuild the lives of those affected by brain injury – Helen Hobbs, Co-Founder and Director of Hobbs Rehabilitation, and her colleague Kirsti Pretty, Strategic Director.

Hobbs Rehabilitation is among a number of organisations with which Coulthursts works tirelessly to try and improve TBI outcomes by providing up front resources, where possible, during their recuperation. The service’s treatment regime includes a blend of disciplines including neurological physiotherapy, education, speech therapy, psychology and a relatively new science known as neurotechnology.

In James’ film, Helen, who co-founded Hobbs Rehabilitation in 2005 with Nikki Ellis, explains: “We’re both neuro-physios by background, and our vision was to set up something that went the extra mile, putting the patient at the centre of everything that we did, but also offering a one-stop shop so the patients could receive all the interdisciplinary intervention that they needed – physio, OT (occupational therapy), speech and language therapy, psychology, everything in one place.

“The concept and people’s understanding of rehabilitation has changed massively over the last 20 years. People used to think that after brain injury or spinal cord injury, you couldn’t recover. We now know that science dictates we can recover, and the importance of a co-ordinated interdisciplinary team in that journey of recovery is essential.”Helen Hobbs

“The concept and people’s understanding of rehabilitation has changed massively over the last 20 years. People used to think that after brain injury or spinal cord injury, you couldn’t recover. We now know that science dictates we can recover, and the importance of a co-ordinated interdisciplinary team in that journey of recovery is essential.”

She added that this presence of an interdisciplinary team throughout patients’ recovery helps them to understand what is happening, also helping them to overcome moments when they are struggling with the less obvious side effects of TBI, such as feeling bowed down by fatigue, forgetfulness or difficulty in focusing.

Without that type of support, a lot of people with head injuries would not return to work and could not maintain their personal relationships because they would not have the insight to understand some of their problems, explains Helen.

As well as being known for its clinical excellence nationally, Hobbs Rehabilitation has also been recognised for being an early adopter of neurotechnology, including robotic devices that can enhance quality of life and visual reality equipment that can stimulate patients’ brains and make further ongoing improvements to their cognitive ability. Hobbs Rehabilitation even advises equipment manufacturers internationally on how their products can be adapted and improved to help achieve better clinical results, and it has has even developed a body known as the MINT Academy (Masterclass In Neurotechnology), so that clinicians around the globe can learn how to make best use of the large number of devices which are now available.

“The advance of neuro-technologies has really been one of the biggest drivers for Hobbs Rehabilitation having a more global platform,” adds Kirsti Pretty. “The MINT Academy started as an education platform for clinicians and we now have over 500 clinicians actively using that platform from over 80 countries worldwide.”

Hobbs was originally approached by several hundred device developers offering to provide the technology devices, but a lot of the products were simply not suitable. The MINT Academy, however, has enabled the Hobbs team to help developers co-design more suitable devices which are more clinically relevant for patients to use.

Patients can also sign up for clinical trials with the MINT Academy to help them understand what is going on. It also enables them to find out about and access new technologies being developed all over the world which might help them, but which are not readily available on the NHS.

Helen concludes: “I think the voice of the patient is much more powerful in this rehab journey and we need to help empower them to keep driving that forward because we now know people can recover and do get better after brain injury. I think that’s a really key message for the future.”