Tag Archives: traumatic brain injury
Brain Injury in Athletes
Have you ever considered what life is like for the millions of people who currently live with a traumatic brain injury? There is so much that one cannot ever imagine in these situations unless you are personally affected by it. Unfortunately, this is the everyday reality for many. Yet, sometimes doctors do not even realize this. This is partly why Traumatic Brain Injury is called the Silent Epidemic. No MRI, No TBI Millions of Americans are affected and suffering in silence; some of which are not even recognized as being real instances of the effects of brain injury. This is because these injuries do not always show up …
TBI Resource Roundup
We were recently contacted with a request through our TBI Awareness Facebook page, to guest post a round-up of Traumatic Brain Injury resources. We loved this request and gladly accepted. A traumatic brain injury is life-changing, debilitating, scary, and often times not understood. However, through it all, we’ve learned that the community that surrounds traumatic brain injury is one of inclusion, support and most importantly hope. The following are resources that our team has found or been introduced to since the beginning of our journey in 2012. We highly recommend that you check these out if you are looking for inspiration, hope, data, friends, understanding or anything else TBI-related. TBI …
The Severe Risk of Sports-Related Brain Injuries
The Consequences of Head Injuries in Sports Certain sports leave players very vulnerable to Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). These are defined as “a blow or jolt to the head, or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain,” and are very common particularly in football, boxing and cycling. In 2009, the Consumer Product Safety Commission estimated there to have occurred 446,788 sports-related brain injuries in the US, which represented an increase from the year before. The real numbers may be even higher, since many people unfortunately do not go to the hospital following a head injury. Surprisingly, cycling is responsible for the highest proportion of sports-related …
How TBI Can Happen in the Workplace
The Brain Injury Institute reports that traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens in the workplace more frequently and easily than you might expect. Even if you work in an office “cubicle” environment, you could trip on the corner of a desk or slip on coffee your coworker spilled and suffer serious brain injury. According to the institute, approximately 20% of all on-the-job TBI occurs from falling on surfaces that are wet or uneven or that contain out-of-place objects. Although motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of TBI, falls are in second place and slowly climbing statistically. This may be due in part to the fact that the number of workers …
Despite Hardhats, Traumatic Brain Injuries Still Common on Construction Sites
Although hardhats are a fixture in construction work and are intended to keep construction workers safe, they do not always prevent accidents that lead to traumatic brain injury (TBI) on construction sites. TBIs occur when a bump or blow to the head, or a penetrating head injury, causes an injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. A TBI can be mild or severe, with concussions being the most common TBI, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These injuries may resolve over time – or they may affect an injured person for the rest of his or her life. While hardhats provide the best hope of …
Car Accidents and Traumatic Brain Injury
With football-caused concussions and brain disease grabbing so much attention, it’s easy to forget that sports are a relatively uncommon source of traumatic brain injury, or TBI, among the general population. In fact, motor vehicle accidents and falls are responsible for most TBIs suffered by Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 2 million Americans per year experience TBI, with 14.3% caused by traffic accidents and 40.5% caused by falls. That means some 286,000 TBIs result from car crashes annually. The actual number may be much higher, because brain injuries aren’t always immediately obvious after an accident. Indeed, TBI is commonly referred to as a “silent” epidemic …
Formula 1 Crash Highlights Risk of TBI in Car Accidents
Whenever a driver gets into a race car, he or she is fully aware of the risks of severe injury or death. But when a horrible crash occurs, it is still a shock. That is what the family members, friends and fans of Formula 1 driver Jules Bianchi are experiencing after an Oct. 5 crash in the Japanese Grand Prix. Bianchi suffered a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI) known as a diffuse axonal injury (DAI) after his car hydroplaned on a wet track and hit the rear of a vehicle that was being used to remove the wreckage of another driver’s car. Doctors classified Bianchi’s condition as critical but …
Are NFL’s Concussion and Domestic Violence Problems Linked?
Several articles have come out in early September examining whether there may be a connection between two problems currently plaguing the National Football League: Concussions and domestic violence. Concussions are a mild form of traumatic brain injury (TBI). They have been a major problem in the NFL – and all levels of the sport – for many years. In 2013 alone, 228 concussions were diagnosed among NFL players, according to the league’s annual Health & Safety Report. The problem has recently received heightened attention due to research indicating a link between repeated concussions and brain disease such as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Additionally, the NFL is now facing a class-action …
Back to College Means Back to Accidents
As parents say goodbye to their children heading back to college, or area residents welcome students back to schools, our thoughts turn to college students and the cars they drive. More specifically, there is reason to be concerned about the increase in car accidents and traumatic brain injury (TBI) when college students return to school. About 70 percent of college-age students own or have access to cars, according to College Parents of America. In addition to increased congestion in areas around college campuses once fall semester begins, there is typically an increase in accidents, including accidents that can cause TBI. “For many students, the first year of college is a …
Researchers Spot Surge in ER Visits for Traumatic Brain Injuries
Greater awareness of problems stemming from blows to the head could be leading to a major increase in the number of traumatic brain injuries, according to new research. A study analyzing patient information from 950 hospitals nationwide found 2.5 million people were admitted to emergency rooms for treatment of traumatic brain injuries in 2010. That marked a 29 percent increase over 2006, even though emergency department visits went up just 3.6 percent in the same time frame, according to the study published recently in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Concussions in Young Children and Seniors Drive TBI Spike Concussions and other unspecified injuries – many of which were …