Evaluating Recovery following Closed Head Injuries: The Role of Wearable Monitors in Tracking Severity and Recovery Kinetics

Background Closed head injuries, including mild to moderate traumatic brain injuries (TBIs), present challenges in assessment due to subjective symptom reporting and individual variability in recovery. Wearable technology offers an objective approach to tracking physiological metrics, providing insights into post-injury recovery trajectories. Methods This case report examines a 26-year-old female psychologist who sustained a closed head injury after a vehicular collision while riding a scooter. A Garmin Forerunner 955 smartwatch, which she had been using prior to the injury, provided continuous tracking of heart rate variability (HRV), sleep duration, step count, and gait speed. Results Following the injury, step count dropped from 10,000 + to 1,000–2,000 per day, HRV remained suppressed, sleep duration increased from 6 to over 14 hours per night, and gait speed declined from 1.3 m/s to 0.47 m/s. While improvements were observed over three months, key activity and mobility metrics remained below baseline. Conclusion Wearable devices provided continuous, objective data that complemented traditional clinical assessments. These metrics informed rehabilitation strategies and demonstrated potential in tracking autonomic dysfunction and mobility recovery. Further research is necessary to validate wearable-derived data for clinical applications and establish standardized integration protocols.