Left Brain Damage: effects + therapy activities that can help
If you or your loved one has recently sustained a left hemisphere brain injury — due to a stroke or other brain injury — you may be overwhelmed with questions like:
- What role does the left brain play in everyday life?
- How does left-sided brain damage impact cognitive processing capabilities?
- What differentiates a left side brain injury?
- What tools might be available to help regain valuable skills during the recovery journey?
In anticipation of Brain Injury Awareness Month in March, this post will answer those questions and provide an overview of specific Constant Therapy exercises that may help in recovery from a left brain injury.
What is the left side of the brain responsible for?
The brain is divided into two hemispheres, left and right, which are bridged by the corpus callosum, a bundle of nerves that functions like a highway to connect the two sides of the brain. While the left and right sides of the brain do communicate with one other, each hemisphere has primary control over particular functions.
Counterintuitively, each side of the brain controls the opposite side of the body. One of the key functions the left brain is responsible for, therefore, is right side body mobility.
Beyond that, the left hemisphere of the brain is especially important for language expression and comprehension. This is in part because several brain regions especially critical for language, such as Broca’s area and Wernicke’s area, are located in the left hemisphere of the brain. The left brain is therefore largely responsible for speaking, listening, reading, writing, and grammatical processing.
The left hemisphere is also crucial for logical reasoning skills—including numeracy, computation, and information processing—and executive functions like time awareness.
What is a left-side brain injury?
Due to the relative specialization of brain function, injuries to a particular hemisphere of the brain often assume common characteristics. Such damage can result from a traumatic brain injury, which typically follows a sudden, strong physical impact to the brain, or a non-traumatic brain injury, which can be caused by oxygen deprivation (during a stroke, for example) or chemical exposure.
A left brain injury occurs when the left cerebral hemisphere sustains damage that impacts its functioning. It is important to keep in mind, however, that many brain injuries ultimately affect both sides of the brain.
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What would be impaired if the left side of your brain were injured?
Every brain, and every brain injury, is unique. It is impossible to predict how an injury to the left cerebral hemisphere might manifest in a specific individual. However, there are patterns of brain damage that have been broadly observed by researchers and clinicians.
When the left side of the brain is damaged from a neurological injury (like a TBI) or event (like a stroke), language difficulties are one of the most common side effects. People who experience left brain injuries might have difficulty producing and comprehending spoken and/or written language (aphasia); coordinating the motor aspects of speech (apraxia); or with slurring their speech (dysarthria).
Left side brain damage may also result in challenges with numerical computations (such as counting or math operations) and processing and solving complex problems.
Movement on the right side of the body is also commonly affected with left side brain damage, and it may result in weakness and decreased sensitivity on the right side as well.
Which Constant Therapy exercises can help with my brain injury recovery?
As you or your loved one is recovering from a left side brain damage, Constant Therapy’s customizable program can be a crucial partner in recovery success. The program’s extensive body of evidence-based exercises, which target specific skill areas, can be leveraged by you and/or your clinician to best address high-priority recovery targets.
Here are some Constant Therapy exercises that might be especially helpful for someone with left cerebral hemisphere damage:
Word retrieval, naming, and repetition speaking brain exercises
Name Pictures exercise (Word Retrieval) in Constant Therapy
Language comprehension reading therapy activities:
- Understand Written Words
- Read Multiple Paragraphs
- Complete Active Sentences
- Read and Identify Related Words
Read and Identify Related Words exercise (Reading Comprehension) in Constant Therapy
Spelling and writing brain exercises:
Spell What You Hear exercise (Spelling) in Constant Therapy
Auditory comprehension listening therapy activities:
Understand Voicemail exercise (Auditory Comprehension) in Constant Therapy
Numerical skill therapy activities:
Solve Number Patterns exercise (Quantitative Reasoning) in Constant Therapy
Conclusion
The above exercises are just a small sampling of the many exercises Constant Therapy offers through its program that might aid in recovery from a left side brain injury. If you or a loved one might benefit from such therapy exercises during their recovery journey, Constant Therapy offers a 2-week free trial so that prospective users can try it out and experience the benefits for themselves. Most of all, it is important to remember that with time, dedication, and hope, improvement is possible. Therapy exercises that might seem impossible today can eventually become seamless with hard work and determination.
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I have left brain damage & have all the symptoms you list. I was diagnosed with Post Concussive Syndrome in 2022 from a fall in 2018! Doctors question why I haven’t recovered from PCS. I have no idea nor understand any of it. I just know we have thousands of $$ medical debt right now. I had this in the past but wonder about 1 mo. March for help. ??
Hi Jill, we are so sorry to hear you are struggling with PCS. If you are struggling financially, you may want to consider contacting our Support team for more information on subscription discounts or scholarship plans. You can reach them over the phone at 1-888-233-1399 or email at support@constanttherapy.com.
With the above writer’s question about Post Concussive Syndrome, is it sensory issues that continue after the first month, or is it similar to TBI or Longterm Covid patients?
Nancy, thanks for the question! It’s hard to say, because PCS can present differently between people. If you are experiencing PCS symptoms and/or sensory issues, we recommend speaking with a healthcare provider to get the appropriate answers & support. Hope this is helpful!
Thank you my assistant I use the exercises every day, and I see the different in my life!
So happy to hear that they are making a difference in your life!
how about if the right side of the brain is injured? what are the affected skills and which constant therapy exercises to be performed?
Good news! We are releasing a new post soon about which Constant Therapy exercises work well for right brain injuries. You can keep an eye out for that, and in the mean time check out this other post explaining more about right brain injury https://constanttherapyhealth.com/brainwire/a-guide-to-right-hemisphere-brain-damage/
Hi, Emmanuel- The Right Brain post is now published: https://constanttherapyhealth.com/brainwire/right-hemisphere-brain-damage-therapy-exercises-that-may-help/
I did the excercises for three months after my stroke then lost interest. Did not see much progress. I do not understand why I am resisting.
Hi Art! It’s hard to always stay motivated, especially because recovery progress is never linear. Here’s an article with a real-world perspective on staying motivated throughout different phases of recovery https://constanttherapyhealth.com/brainwire/staying-motivated-while-living-with-aphasia-an-interview-with-steve-parnell/
Hello. I am a Recreation Therapist working at Providence Hospital in Southfield Michigan. I receive your emails and have had a presentation from Constant Therapy for my Stroke Support Group. The information is well organized.
I am presenting to the Michigan Therapeutic Recreation Association on March 24th, 2023. Would you give permission for me to include some of the info and graphics, if I credit you and include you in my sources?
Hi, Karen- Yes, absolutely! Feel free to use our graphics with attribution. We have heard from Recreation Therapists that they use Constant Therapy in group settings to engage patients — with excellent results.
Hi, my 2 year old son was found that his left brain side is injured. The neurologist said that there is nothing that can be done.
Is there any help for him.
Hi Virginia, we are so sorry to hear about your son. The brain’s neuroplasticity is very powerful, which you can read more about in this BrainWire post. In terms of treatment, we recommend talking with your current healthcare provider, or perhaps seeking a second opinion from another neurologist. Best of luck to you and your son!
I had a left brain stroke 10 months ago; was admitted 5-days and have not had any other treatment. Is it too late to address memory issues at another hospital?
Hi Hope! No, it’s never too late to work on your speech and cognitive skills after a neurological event such as a stroke. We cannot speak to the process of getting set up at a different hospital, but we would be happy to provide you more information about Constant Therapy and neuroplasticity. If you have any questions feel free to email us at support@constanttherapy.com.
I live in Ireland and will purchase this for my mom who had a stroke and living in the Philippines. Could she access it from where she is or it has geographical limitation? Please advise.
Hi Belle, that sounds great. Constant Therapy is available in the Apple app store, the Google play store, and the Amazon app store on all devices that currently support the app. There is no geographic limitations. If you have more questions or would like assistance in setting up the account, feel free to email us at support@constanttherapy.com. Thank you for choosing Constant Therapy!
Hello, I am a TBI survivor and I have been using Constant Therapy for a month. I have seen improvement in that time, although my injury was 22 years ago in the Army Reserve.
I wanted to thank you for your articles, I have learned a lot in the past month. I write to offer hope to others who have ben living with their ailments for a long time, keep up the Therapy and you will see small amount of progress. Don’t give up!