Brain Injury

About Brain Injury

Brain Injury vs. Head Injury
In order to better understand about brain injury it is important to differentiate it from a head injury. A head injury does not necessarily mean injury to the brain nor does a brain injury necessarily come from a head injury. You can bump your head hard enough to cause injury to the skull, yet not to the brain. Whereas, in an accident involving whiplash, although the skull may not be injured, the brain is jostled back and forth inside the skull in a force strong enough to cause shearing and tearing of the nerves in the brain.

Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) vs Stroke (Brain Attack)
A Traumatic Brain Injury is caused by an external force or impact, while a Stroke (brain attack) is from an internal force. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) are caused by an outside force, such as an automobile accident, a fall, sports injury, assault (firearm), domestic violence (battering) and shaken baby syndrome. Concussion is a form of brain injury. A Stroke is caused by either excess or reduced blood supply to the brain. A Brain Tumor is an abnormal growth of cells on the brain. The causes are varied. The cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is not known, but it does cause brain injury.

Descriptions of Traumatic Brain Injury
The terms mild, moderate, and severe are not used the same as in all other areas in medicine or in life. The term mild means not so bad, such as I have a mild cold or the weather will be mild today. However, these terms when relating to brain injury - have nothing to do with the severity of injury. Rather, they refer to the length of time a person is unconscious or lacks awareness of their environment!

Mild: Zero to 60 minutes
Moderate: 1 - 24 hours
Severe: Greater than 24 hours.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury
Caused by an outside force, such as an automobile accident, a fall, sports injury, assault (firearm), domestic violence (battering) and shaken baby syndrome. Concussion is a form of brain injury.

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury
Each year more than 1,000,000 Americans suffer its effects from automobile accidents, falls, work related accidents, physical assaults and sports injuries, such as football, hockey and soccer. Of that number, more than 30,000 children ages 0-19 sustain permanent disabilities as the result of brain injuries at an estimated lifetime cost of over 4 million dollars per person. Children are especially at risk in the afternoon after being dismissed from school. 42.6% of child injuries occur on roads, 34.3% at homes and 6.6% in recreation areas. Young athletes are especially prone to MTBI. As the mother of three teenage boys, I know my sons are in the highest risk category for MTBI. A child is four times more likely to be seriously injured in a bicycle or roller-blading accident than to be kidnapped by a stranger. A child active in sports may be hit on the head or fall and be rendered briefly unconscious. The child may get up and play the remainder of the game, and only months later begin to experience symptoms of brain injury, called postconcussive syndrome.

Postconcussive Syndrome
A persons condition immediately following injury may not always indicate the seriousness of brain injury. Although most people who experience an MTBI appear quite normal within hours of injury, new or lingering symptoms often force them to seek medical assistance later. Though we can define MTBI, we often cannot detect it and thus are still far from understanding it. MTBI is the leading misdiagnosed (often undiagnosed!) health problem in the United States today. Many people across the nation are being misdiagnosed as suffering from conditions of depression, learning disabilities, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines and seizures: in actual fact, they are suffering from MTBI.
In postconcussive syndrome, symptoms often appear in clusters and may last for days, weeks, or longer. Intensified by fear and uncertainty, this syndrome can interfere with daily life and lead to frustration and despair, especially when its cause remains unknown. Unlike brain injuries detected through CAT scan, EEG, and MRI, mild traumatic brain injury can only be accurately diagnosed through diagnostic testing that detects nerve cell damage, as in neuropsychological evaluation - (testing that measures different aspects of brain function), SPECT scan, Q-EEG or autopsy.

During my own rehabilitation, it became clear that a majority of people, from the injured person to those in health care and social services had no idea what MTBI is. Therefore, I decided to write the first reference book to provide vital information to people with MTBI, their families, their friends and to organizations that work with them. That book is Coping With Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. In the first six years following my accident, I found it difficult to do the things that were once second nature to me. Yet, with time, comes healing in body, mind and spirit. You realize that you are no longer the same person as before the injury, but you are stronger, a composite of "old" and "new." Gradually, you accept the changes within yourself and begin to reconnect with life again. Through your inner strength, you can emerge from the cocoon of brain injury.

A Stroke is a Brain Injury
A Stroke is caused from an internal force, either excess or reduced blood supply to the brain.

A TBI is a Brain Injury
A Traumatic Brain Injury is caused by an external force or impact, while a Stroke (brain attack) is from an internal force. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) are caused by an outside force, such as an automobile accident, a fall, sports injury, assault (firearm), domestic violence (battering) and shaken baby syndrome. Concussion is a form of brain injury. A Stroke is caused by either excess or reduced blood supply to the brain. A Brain Tumor is an abnormal growth of cells on the brain. The causes are varied. The cause of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is not known, but it does cause brain injury.

A Concussion is a Brain Injury
Loss of consciousness (or awareness of one's environment) for up to 1 hour. After one hour, it is called a coma.

A Contusion is a Brain Injury
A contusion is a bruise caused by a blow to the muscle, tendon or ligament; caused when blood pools around the injury and discolors the skin.

Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an Injury to the Brain
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS), which consists of the spinal cord and brain. Most people think of the physical symptoms related to MS. The truth is MS affects all areas of the brain, not only the portion related to muscle and motor movement.

Parkinson's Disease is an injury to the Brain
Parkinson's Disease is a neurodegenerative brain disorder that progresses slowly in most people. Normally, there are brain cells (neurons) in the human brain that produce dopamine. These neurons concentrate in a particular area of the brain, called the substantia nigra. Dopamine is a chemical that relays messages between the substantia nigra and other parts of the brain to control movements of the human body. Dopamine helps humans to have smooth coordinated muscle movements. When approximately 60% to 80% of the dopamine-producing cells are damaged, and do not produce enough dopamine, the motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease appear.

Brain Tumor Can Cause Brain Injury
A Brain Tumor is an abnormal growth of cells on the brain. The causes are varied.

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