TBI & Neurological Services — Brain Injury Care

You don't have to hit your head to sustain a brain injury. The same deceleration forces that cause whiplash (your head snapping forward, back, and sometimes sideways) can cause your brain to move inside your skull. That movement stretches and shears neural connections. The result is a traumatic brain injury that standard ER imaging won't detect and that may not produce obvious symptoms for hours or days.

How TBI Presents After a Car Accident

Mild TBI (what most people call a concussion) produces a pattern of symptoms that are real, measurable, and treatable:

• Cognitive symptoms: Difficulty concentrating, memory lapses, slowed processing speed, trouble with complex tasks that used to be effortless
• Physical symptoms: Headache, dizziness, balance problems, sensitivity to light and noise, visual disturbances
• Emotional symptoms: Irritability, emotional reactivity, mood swings, anxiety that wasn't present before the accident
• Sleep disruption: Insomnia, excessive fatigue, sleep that doesn't feel restorative

Post-concussion syndrome (when these symptoms persist beyond the expected 2-4 week recovery window) affects a significant percentage of patients and requires specialized management. Without proper evaluation and treatment, symptoms can persist for months and significantly impair daily function, work capacity, and quality of life.

When Your Managing Physician Refers to TBI Specialists

Your managing physician screens for cognitive and neurological symptoms at your initial evaluation and throughout treatment. Referral to TBI specialists occurs when:

• Concussion symptoms persist: Symptoms that haven't resolved within the expected window warrant comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation to document the extent of injury and guide targeted treatment.
• Neuropsychological baseline testing is indicated: When the injury mechanism suggests possible brain injury, objective cognitive testing establishes a documented baseline, essential for tracking recovery and creating a medical record of the injury.
• Dizziness or balance problems are present: Vestibular symptoms after a car accident require specialized assessment and rehabilitation distinct from general physical therapy.
• Cognitive deficits are affecting rehabilitation: Difficulty remembering home exercises, concentrating during PT sessions, or following multi-step instructions indicates that cognitive rehabilitation should be integrated into the physical treatment plan.
• Return-to-work or return-to-activity planning is needed: Structured protocols for returning to demanding cognitive tasks, driving, or athletic activity after brain injury require specialist guidance.

Network TBI Providers

Cortex TBI — Aurora

Specialized traumatic brain injury services:

• TBI evaluation — Comprehensive diagnostic assessment of brain injury severity, mechanism, and functional impact
• Neuropsychological testing — Standardized cognitive assessment measuring attention, memory, processing speed, executive function, and visuospatial abilities
• Cognitive rehabilitation programs — Structured, measurable programs targeting specific deficits identified through testing
• Return-to-activity protocols — Guided, progressive progression back to work, driving, and demanding daily activities

Flatirons Cognitive Therapy — Broomfield

• Cognitive rehabilitation — Individualized programs addressing the specific cognitive deficits identified through neuropsychological evaluation
• Attention and memory training — Targeted exercises for rebuilding sustained attention, working memory, and information processing
• Compensatory strategy development — Practical techniques for managing cognitive limitations during recovery (organizational systems, memory aids, fatigue management)
• Progress monitoring — Objective tracking of cognitive improvement over the treatment course

Neuro-Vision Therapy Institute — Denver

Visual and vestibular rehabilitation following brain injury:

• Oculomotor therapy — Treatment for eye movement and tracking problems caused by brain injury (diplopia, convergence insufficiency, saccadic dysfunction)
• Visual processing rehabilitation — Addressing visual disturbances, light sensitivity, and spatial disorientation from TBI
• Visual-vestibular integration — Coordinating visual and balance systems that are disrupted in tandem after brain injury
• Vestibular rehabilitation — Exercises retraining the brain's balance and spatial processing systems when inner ear or central vestibular pathways are affected

Cherry Creek Neurology — Denver

Medical and neurological management:

• Neurological evaluation — Physician-level assessment of brain injury severity and neurological status
• Medication management — Clinical management of headache, sleep disruption, and other neurological symptoms that may require pharmacological support
• Specialist oversight — Integration with your managing physician for cases requiring ongoing neurological management alongside rehabilitation

What Neuropsychological Testing Provides

Neuropsychological testing is the clinical standard for objective assessment of cognitive function after brain injury. Testing measures:

• Attention and concentration — sustained focus, divided attention, processing speed under cognitive load
• Memory — immediate and delayed recall, recognition, working memory
• Executive function — planning, organization, cognitive flexibility, impulse control
• Language — word finding, verbal fluency, comprehension
• Visuospatial ability — spatial orientation and visual processing

Testing takes several hours and produces a detailed profile comparing your cognitive performance to age-matched norms. This profile serves two purposes: it identifies exactly which cognitive domains need targeted rehabilitation, and it creates objective documentation of impairment: measurable, comparable data that goes beyond subjective symptom reports.

For insurance and legal purposes, neuropsychological test results are objective medical evidence of brain injury impact. They quantify what subjective descriptions cannot.

How TBI Care Integrates with Physical Treatment

Cognitive and physical recovery interact in both directions. Cognitive deficits from TBI reduce a patient's ability to participate fully in physical therapy: difficulty following instructions, remembering home exercises, or concentrating during sessions. Addressing cognitive rehabilitation alongside physical treatment improves outcomes in both domains.

Pain management procedures that reduce pain levels can allow cognitive rehabilitation to advance. Patients can engage more fully in demanding cognitive tasks when not managing significant pain. Your managing physician coordinates this sequencing.

Every TBI specialist in CCC's network communicates with your managing physician. Specialist findings are integrated into your overall treatment plan, not pursued independently.

Frequently Asked Questions