A traumatic brain injury is damage to brain function caused by an external force such as a blow, jolt or penetrating injury. Severity ranges from concussion to severe TBI, and common effects include dizziness, balance loss and fatigue. Rehabilitation can help many people improve function. SportsMed Physical Therapy provides TBI rehab across New Jersey and Connecticut locations.
What Is a Traumatic Brain Injury?
A traumatic brain injury, or TBI, is a disruption of normal brain function caused by an outside force. That force can be a direct impact, a rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head, a blast wave, or an object penetrating the skull. The injury involves stretching and shearing of nerve fibers, changes in brain chemistry and blood flow, and in more severe cases bleeding or swelling. Structures commonly affected include the frontal and temporal lobes, the brainstem, the cerebellum and the vestibular system in the inner ear and its connections.
TBIs are graded as mild, moderate or severe. Mild TBI, usually called concussion, makes up roughly 75 to 80 percent of cases. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention record well over two million TBI-related emergency visits in the United States each year. Falls are the leading cause overall, particularly in adults over 65 and in young children, followed by motor vehicle crashes, being struck by an object, assaults and sports collisions.
What Causes Traumatic Brain Injuries?
Any event that transmits sudden force to the head or body can cause a TBI. The brain sits in fluid inside the skull, so a hard stop or spin makes it move against bone and stretch its own nerve tissue. You do not need to lose consciousness or hit your head directly for an injury to occur; a whiplash-type jolt can be enough. Risk is higher for people who have had a previous concussion, for older adults with balance or vision problems, and for anyone taking blood thinners.
Common causes and risk factors include:
- Falls at home, at work or on stairs, especially in adults over 65
- Motor vehicle, motorcycle, bicycle and pedestrian collisions
- Being struck by or against an object, including workplace incidents
- Contact and collision sports such as football, soccer, hockey and wrestling
- Assaults, including intimate partner violence
- Previous concussion, which raises the chance of another
- Blood-thinning medication, alcohol use, and existing balance or vision impairment
What Are the Symptoms of a Traumatic Brain Injury?
Symptoms vary widely with severity and with which brain regions are affected. Many appear right away, but some emerge over hours or days. People with mild TBI often describe a foggy, off-balance feeling more than pain. Moderate and severe injuries can involve prolonged loss of consciousness, confusion and significant physical impairment.
Typical symptoms include:
- Headache, pressure in the head, dizziness or a spinning sensation
- Balance problems, unsteady walking and increased falls
- Nausea, light sensitivity and noise sensitivity
- Blurred or double vision and trouble tracking moving objects
- Memory gaps, slowed thinking, poor concentration and word-finding trouble
- Fatigue, sleep changes, irritability, anxiety or low mood
- Neck pain and stiffness, which often accompany head injury
Seek emergency medical attention immediately for worsening or severe headache, repeated vomiting, seizures, one pupil larger than the other, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the limbs, clear fluid from the nose or ears, increasing confusion, or any loss of consciousness.
How Is a Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnosed?
Diagnosis is made by a physician using history, symptom scales and a neurological examination that checks alertness, cranial nerves, strength, sensation, coordination and eye movement. The Glasgow Coma Scale helps grade severity in the acute setting. CT scanning is used when there is concern about bleeding, skull fracture or worsening neurological signs, and MRI may follow later for persistent symptoms.
Rehabilitation testing adds a functional layer. Physical therapists assess standing and walking balance, gaze stability, vestibular-ocular reflex function, cervical spine involvement, exertional tolerance and dual-task walking. These measures identify which systems are driving symptoms and provide objective baselines to track over time. Imaging is often normal in mild TBI even when symptoms are real and disabling.
How Physical Therapy Treats Traumatic Brain Injuries
Rehabilitation after TBI is individualized and team-based. Physical therapy cannot repair brain tissue, and outcomes vary considerably from person to person, but targeted rehabilitation can help many people improve balance, walking, dizziness, exercise tolerance and independence in daily activities. Your therapist works alongside your physician, and with neuropsychology, speech therapy or occupational therapy where needed.
Care usually starts with education, symptom monitoring and gentle activity within tolerance, since prolonged complete rest is no longer recommended for most concussions. Vestibular therapy and neurological rehabilitation addresses dizziness, gaze instability and motion sensitivity with habituation, gaze stabilization and canalith repositioning when appropriate. Gait and balance training rebuilds steadiness on varied surfaces, in low light and while dual-tasking, which matters greatly for fall prevention. Neck treatment through physical therapy is included because cervical injury often contributes to headache and dizziness. Sub-symptom aerobic reconditioning may use the Alter-G anti-gravity treadmill to control effort, and patients who cannot travel safely may begin with in-home rehabilitation. Ask about HomeCare availability, which is based at our Brick, Englewood, Franklin Lakes and Jersey City McGinley Square clinics.
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How Long Does Recovery Take?
Recovery timelines vary widely and cannot be predicted precisely. Most adults with concussion improve substantially within two to four weeks, and most children and teens within four weeks, though a meaningful minority have symptoms lasting three months or more. Moderate and severe TBI recovery is measured in months to years, and some effects may be lasting. Recovery tends to progress better with early guided activity, good sleep, treatment of neck and vestibular problems, and gradual return to work or school. It is often slower with repeat injuries, migraine history, anxiety or depression, older age and prolonged inactivity.
Traumatic Brain Injury Treatment Near You in New Jersey and Connecticut
SportsMed offers vestibular, neurological and balance rehabilitation at clinics across New Jersey and Connecticut. Hudson County patients are seen at our Jersey City clinic near McGinley Square and at Journal Square, along with Union City, Bayonne and North Bergen. We also treat patients from Newark, Paterson, Clifton and Elizabeth, from Edison and Woodbridge, and from Toms River on the shore. In Connecticut, care is available in Stamford and Bridgeport. Our network covers Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic and Union Counties in New Jersey, plus Fairfield and New Haven Counties in Connecticut. View our New Jersey locations and Connecticut locations, search the clinic finder, or book an evaluation online.
Frequently Asked Questions About Traumatic Brain Injuries
Q: Is a concussion the same as a traumatic brain injury?
A: Yes. A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury, and it accounts for roughly three quarters of all TBIs. “Mild” refers to the initial injury grading, not to how the symptoms feel. Concussion can still cause weeks of headache, dizziness, fatigue and concentration difficulty that benefit from guided rehabilitation.
Q: Should I rest in a dark room after a head injury?
A: Current guidance recommends 24 to 48 hours of relative rest, then a gradual return to light activity as tolerated. Extended isolation and complete rest are linked to slower recovery and lower mood. Your physician and therapist can help you find a level of activity that does not significantly worsen symptoms.
Q: Can physical therapy fix brain damage?
A: No therapy repairs damaged brain tissue. What rehabilitation can do is train the systems that control balance, gaze, walking and endurance, and help the nervous system adapt. Many people see meaningful gains in function and confidence, though results vary with injury severity, age and other health conditions.
Q: Why does a head injury make me dizzy?
A: Dizziness after TBI often comes from the vestibular system in the inner ear and its brain connections, from displaced inner ear crystals, from impaired eye movement control, or from neck injury sustained at the same time. A vestibular assessment can identify which of these is contributing and guide targeted treatment.
Q: When can an athlete return to sport after a concussion?
A: Return follows a stepwise protocol supervised by a physician, advancing only when each stage is tolerated without symptom return, and never on the same day as the injury. Most athletes need at least one to two weeks, and clearance depends on medical evaluation, not just on feeling better.
Q: Do I need a referral, and is there a SportsMed near me for TBI rehab?
A: Many patients can begin under direct access in New Jersey and Connecticut, though head injury care is usually coordinated with a physician and some plans require a referral. SportsMed has clinics including Jersey City, Newark, Paterson, Edison, Toms River, Bridgeport and Stamford. Search the clinic finder.
If dizziness, unsteadiness or fatigue have lingered after a head injury, a focused rehabilitation assessment can identify what is driving your symptoms. Our vestibular and neurological rehab therapists work with your physician to build a plan at a pace your nervous system can handle.
Book an appointment with SportsMed Physical Therapy at a clinic near you.Reviewed by the SportsMed Physical Therapy clinical team. Last updated: August 2026.