Multiple Ways of Knowing: Traumatic Brain InjuryRecovery as a Social Justice Issue

According to longitude studies, approximately 150 Americans have died from Traumatic brain injuries every day since 2014.

Over 2.4 million Americans live with different forms of Traumatic brain injury, and many struggles to find normalcy and maintain quality of life following injury (Krese, Ingraham, O’Brien, Mummidisetty, McNulty, Srdanovic, Kocherginsky & Ripley, 2020). Injuries range from a concussion to severe TBI, and since it is an invisible injury, survivors often find themselves isolated with diminishing quality of life (Krese et al., 2020). The following Newspaper article and scholarly research article aim to answer the question, “Can yoga as a rehabilitation intervention improve the quality of life for Traumatic brain injury survivors” (Edward, 2019 & Krese et al., 2020). According to multiple new studies and the LoveYourBrain Foundation, yoga is proven to improve the quality of life for members of the TBI community (Krese et al., 2020).

The Love Your Brain Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit started by Kevin Pearce and his brother Adam in 2014 after Kevin sustained a nearly fatal TBI training for the 2010 Winter Olympics (Edward, 2019). The Love Your Brain Foundation(LYB), which provides free yoga for TBI survivors and their caregivers throughout a 6-week program across the United States and Canada, is coming to Maryland (Edward, 2019). Unlike a broken limb, brain injury is an ongoing process that impacts the entire biological person and the fluctuations of the patient’s mind (Estes, 2020). Since TBI survivors also experience reduced engagement in leisure and social activities, LYB aims to provide a community that fosters support and resilience for survivors and their caregivers (Edward, 2019). Edward’s article presented an interpretive analysis of how yoga impacts the quality of life and occurrence of post-traumatic recovery for people living with traumatic brain injury. Edward’s interview participants alluded to the value yoga added to the long post-injury recovery process.

Research shows that individuals who identify as traumatic brain injury survivors utilize a variety of rehabilitation and coping strategies to deal with competing discourses and to achieve an improved quality of life post-injury (Krese et al., 2020). In this Journal Article, while it was relatively easy to identify the application of yoga as an alternative treatment plan in the studies, it was often challenging to identify succinct summaries of findings, especially for the application of management strategy in the long run of each topic. The study focused on improving the quality of life for people with TBI. It detoured to a specific focus on sleep quality that was not mentioned in the abstract or introduction (Krese et al., 2020).

Longest, the person responsible for engaging LYB is a TBI survivor of 13 years and has first-hand experience of the benefits of incorporating yoga into rehabilitation programming (Edwards, 2019). Longest sustained a TBI and lived with the consequences for two years before being diagnosed and receiving treatment (Edward, 2019). Longest contributes the sustainability of their recovery to taking yoga classes at the YMCA following intensive rehabilitation and therapy at Sinai Hospital. Like Pearce, Longest notices the changes in the subtle body and mind following a yoga practice that pervades the apparent physical benefits (Edward, 2019).

Both the newspaper article and the Journal article demonstrate that “yoga is feasible, safe, and well-tolerated” for traumatic brain injury survivors (Edward, 2019). Both sources allude to the unique barriers toward healing for survivors of traumatic brain injury. The Journal Research article aims to “compare the impacts of yoga-based physical therapy versus a seated rest within the context of standard rehabilitation practice,” thus contributing to the literature on TBI for practitioners. In contrast, the goals of the newspaper article are to more broadly educate readers on the usefulness of the LYB yoga program to members of the TBI community living in Maryland. The newspaper article analyzes the benefits of an LYB program for the Maryland TBI community using interviews with neurologists and local participants. The Journal article’s arguments and findings are based on primary data collected from observations and self-reported data in an in-patient rehabilitation setting (Krese, 2020). The newspaper article more candidly describes how TBI impacts daily life for people of all ages, explaining how survivors feel like they “don’t fit in” anymore. Krese et al. note in the research how TBI changes certain aspects of physical life but does not promote the importance of community and finding a place of one’s own after injury (2020). The differences between the articles subtly shape a reader’s opinion on how yoga is needed as a part of TBI rehabilitation. If both perspectives were included in one study or article, the message could reach a larger audience and provide maximum impact for improving awareness regarding TBI while improving the lives of current and future TBI survivors.

Precision and accuracy. For a work to be considered accurate, it must be precise, including quantitative data or qualitative measures, to support its claims. This Baltimore Sun article begins by drawing on scientific data, numbers, statistics, and peer-reviewed perspectives to support its claims before diving into personal stories to keep the reader’s interest and support the claims. It is easy for a layperson to read the material and gain a knowledgeable perspective regarding how yoga influenced TBI community members and their service providers. The Social Science article by Krese et al. is more accurate since it relies on peer-reviewed research, including a broad scope of quantitative data, sample population, and self-report interviews. The Journal article is in-depth but lacks personal calls to action and readability for non-social scientist readers. The news article lacks research conducted over a period representing a sample size of data; however, the interviews included a long-term survivor, a Neurologist, and a recent survivor studying for medical school. Both pieces introduce the obstacles faced by members of the TBI community and offer solutions for healing.

Multiple sources are available for learning about traumatic brain injury, ranging from blog posts, social media, newspaper articles, medical research journals, and social-behavior science research journals. Each of these sources comes with varying degrees of authority and bias. If one chooses to read a newspaper article, it is crucial to look for the author’s bias and creative license. In the Newspaper article, a journalist may share firsthand experience with the topic of discussion. Authors of the Research Journal article should explain biases found in their literature review prior to conducting research and in their conclusion. Scholarly Journal articles are often the most reliable source for academic knowledge when they are peer-reviewed by multiple other academic sources. While newspaper articles and researchers both need to meet financial goals, a newspaper article aims to sell an idea, story, or information quickly to the masses and the highest bidder. Relatively unbiased academic organizations support scholarly Journal articles to expand the pool of knowledge for future and present persons. A newspaper article is a great place to find quick and detailed information about a hot topic important to the local community. News articles are often shared as a story unfolds or comes to life. Journal articles are tested theories or hypotheses conducted over time and may not be the most up-to-date perspective on a given topic. Each way of knowing serves to contribute to the knowledge for the greater good of a community.

References

Donnelly KZ, Goldberg S, Fournier D. A qualitative study of loveyourbrain yoga: a

group-based yoga with psychoeducation intervention to facilitate community

integration for people with traumatic brain injury and their caregivers. Disabil

Rehabil. 2019;1–10. DOI: 10.1080/09638288.2018.1563638

Edward, Lee. (2019, April 17). “Nurture it; and; feed it; and; love ; your brain; and; your ; entire self”; Can yoga help with recovery from traumatic brain injuries?; LoveYourBrain says yes. ; And the program is coming to

Maryland. The Sun (Baltimore, Md. : 1837).

Krese, K., Ingraham, B., O’Brien, M., Mummidisetty, C., McNulty, M., Srdanovic,

N., Kocherginsky, M., & Ripley, D. (2020). The impact of a yoga-based

physical therapy group for individuals with traumatic brain injury: results

from a pilot study. Brain Injury, 34(8), 1118–1126.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02699052.2020.1776394

1. https://search.lib.asu.edu/permalink/01ASU_INST/fdcm53/cdi_proquest_newspapers_2210358842

2. https://search.lib.asu.edu/permalink/01ASU_INST/fdcm53/cdi_crossref_primary_10_1080_02699052_2020_1776394

3. https://www-tandfonline-com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1080/02699052.2020.1776394?needAccess=true