Montana Veterans Needed for Fascinating UM Brain Injury Research

Some very interesting research is being done at The University of Montana when it comes to traumatic brain injury (TBI). The research will be particularly helpful for veterans, but in reality will assist anyone impacted by TBI.

Several years ago I attended a veterans conference in Billings featuring the Neural Injury Center from The University of Montana. That's when I first got to meet Cindi Laukes. She's the Director of the Neural Injury Center (NIC) at UM.

Last week, I was in Missoula for our statewide radio show and was able to link up with Cindi and one of the doctors who is leading a new research project for the NIC.

"Are you struggling with symptoms of dizziness, brain fog, or balance problems
due to a concussion or brain injury?" The NIC is developing "a remote vestibular rehabilitation/training system to assist Montana’s rural veterans in meeting these
challenges. (See the flyer further below if you'd like to participate.)

Dr. Brian Loyd is an Assistant Professor in the School of Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Science. One thing he is looking at with this study is how to restore connections in the brain through movements, possibly through movement that can even be done at home by the veteran.

Dr. Loyd: "The nice thing about this system is it's highly, highly plastic- meaning, it can be damaged, but there's a lot of things we can do from an exercise standpoint...So, a lot of things, we just have to get people moving again, moving in the right ways, doing specific exercises related to head and eye coordination to try and up that system's ability to do that."

Vestibular balance, he tells us, basically deals with the workings of your inner ear and the system involved with your balance and controlling movements of the eyes.

Here's the website for the Neural Injury Center if you'd like to reach out to them.

Full audio of our chat with the UM Neural Injury Center:

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