� brain injury, tbi (traumatic brain injury) and concussion
approximately 200,000 americans die each year from brain injuries.
an additional half million or more are hospitalized. about 10
percent of the surviving individuals have mild to moderate problems
that threaten their ability to live independently. another 200,000
have serious problems that may require institutionalization
or some other form of close supervision.
what is traumatic brain injury?
traumatic brain injury is sudden physical damage to the brain.
the damage may be caused by the head forcefully hitting an object
such as the dashboard of a car (closed head injury) or by something
passing through the skull and piercing the brain, as in a gunshot
wound (penetrating head injury). the major causes of head trauma
are motor vehicle accidents. other causes include falls, sports
injuries, violent crimes, and child abuse.
a traumatic brain injury (often called a tbi) is an injury
to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain.
nearly 1.5 million cases of tbi-some mild, some severe-are reported
each year in this country. about 50,000 of the people who have
a tbi die, and about 80,000 leave the hospital with a disability.
today, about 5.3 million people in this country live with a
disability that was caused by a traumatic brain injury.
what are the symptoms of tbi?
symptoms of a tbi may include headache, nausea, confusion or
other cognitive problems, a change in personality, depression,
irritability, and other emotional and behavioral problems. some
people may have seizures as a result of a tbi.
is there any treatment?
immediate treatment for tbi involves surgery to control bleeding
in and around the brain, monitoring and controlling intracranial
pressure, insuring adequate blood flow to the brain, and treating
the body for other injuries and infection.
what is the prognosis?
the outcome of tbi depends on the cause of the injury and on
the location, severity, and extent of neurological damage: outcomes
range from good recovery to death.
frequently observed symptoms of a concussion
- vacant stare (befuddled facial expression)
- delayed verbal and motor responses (slow to answer questions
or follow instructions)
- confusion and inability to focus attention (easily distracted
and unable to follow through with normal activities)
- disorientation (walking in the wrong direction; unaware
of time, date and place)
- slurred or incoherent speech (making disjointed or incomprehensible
statements)
- gross observable incoordination (stumbling, inability to
walk tandem/straight line)
- emotions out of proportion to circumstances (distraught,
crying for no apparent reason)
- memory deficits (exhibited by the athlete repeatedly asking
the same question that has already been answered, or inability
to memorize and recall 3 of 3 words or 3 of 3 objects in
5
minutes)
- period of loss of consciousness (paralytic coma,
unresponsive to arousal
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