...Traumatic Brain Injury Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a serious health issue in the United States. Each year traumatic brain injuries affect millions of Americans. Some cases often result in death while those that survive are left with severe disabilities. Every twenty-one seconds, one person in the United States is sustained with a TBI. In 2013 alone, 1.5 million Americans suffered from traumatic brain injuries. What exactly is a TBI? A traumatic brain injury is defined as an alteration in brain function or other evidence of brain pathology, caused by an external force. TBI’s can be classified as congenital, perinatal, or acquired. In congenital and perinatal cases of TBIs, children are born with such diseases and/or physical abnormalities. Two subcategories of an acquired TBI are non-traumatic and traumatic. From there traumatic brain injuries are broken down into two more sub-categories called open and closed injuries. Open head injury is a skull fracture that is driven into the brain caused by high- momentum causes or objects to the head where as a closed head injury is a mild physical trauma, but still keeping the skull intact. Typical causes for TBI’s are falls, motor vehicle- traffic accidents, struck by/collision accidents, and sports injuries. The two main causes are motor vehicle- traffic accidents and sports injuries. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of all head injuries. These accidents cause about 28% of traumatic brain injuries. The...
Words: 1163 - Pages: 5
...Fifteen years ago, if you believed that injuries to the brain recuperate similarly to other typical injuries, no one would question you. Today, if you believed that your brain had the ability to fully recover from a concussion, you would be in the vast majority of individuals uneducated on this topic. However, in more recent years, researchers have found that the structure and the way the brain functions can be permanently affected by a traumatic brain injury. Although the brain's ability to repair itself through brain plasticity compensates for the minor damages, more severe damages are not as simple, and are often unable to return to the previous uninjured state. Significant collisions can result in chronic traumatic encephalopathy, in addition...
Words: 421 - Pages: 2
...7/21/2015 Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Degenerative Cognitive Diseases Buck (2011) conducted an advanced review of current literature involving the growing issue of repeated Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (MTBI) and its long lasting effects on creating degenerative cognitive diseases titled Mild Traumatic Brain Injury; A Silent Epidemic in Our Practices. MTBI can cause a host of degenerative brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and dementia pugilistica, as well as a multitude of sensory, emotional, behavioral, communicational, and intellectual issues. These can range from difficulty regarding memory or speaking to depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Repeated MTBI has proven to especially dangerous as it is often more difficult to diagnose due to the relatively minor immediate implications that it presents, as opposed to the more blunt and obvious symptoms of severe or moderate TBI. Buck (2011) states that “A diagnosis of severe or moderate TBI is relatively straightforward given the availability of diagnostic technology, including computer tomography scans and magnetic resonance imaging. Mild injuries, however, are far more difficult to diagnosis”. This is due to an underreporting of MTBI by those who suffer from this variety of head trauma as the symptoms may be subdued enough in order to not cause an alarm as well as current technology not being able “to reliably detect the neural damage that occurs in mild injuries”. Another major...
Words: 1072 - Pages: 5
...world of competitive sports is the effects of concussions, and traumatic brain injury to athletes. Concussions were once thought to be an individual type of occurrence, however, it is now learned that brain injury from impacts, can have long term cumulative impact on the brain and mental health. This disorder is now known as CTE, Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. In the early 20th century, this was initially called dementia pugilistica, after doctors began noticing that boxers were sustaining brain injuries after repeated impacts to the head. Mild Traumatic Brain injuries are commonly called concussions, which is an invisible injury. A concussion is caused by rapid acceleration or deceleration of the brain within the skull, .A mild traumatic brain injury or concussion is usually downplayed, due to the fact that a single occurrence usually does not lead to any long term serious health issues. A Traumatic Brain injury would be considered a serious concussion. Any type of concussion, mild or major can cause physical issues, such as headaches, dizziness, nausea, light sensitivity, and feelings of fatigue and lethargy. These injuries can also lead cognitive difficulties and affect the ability to concentrate and disrupt short term memory. This commonly resolves within hours or days for a mild event, and upwards of 6 months for a traumatic or more severe concussion....
Words: 983 - Pages: 4
...Long Term Effects of Concussions in Sports: Disease, Depression, and Social Effects When discussing the very popular and controversial topic of concussions in sports, there are many questions raised from the public about the effects of these concussions on ones life. For the past few decades, the sporting world has been dealing with head injuries in sports and finding new and better ways to deal with and prevent them. With most people involved in sport now knowing the severity of head injuries and there long term effects, it is not uncommon to hear more and more long term effect stories and how these injuries have impacted athletes’ lives. Psychological changes, brain disease, social declination, and even suicide caused from depression have been documented in recent years and has the public growing more and more curious to what the long term effects of head injuries are and what the best way to deal with them is. For professional athletes, the “loss of identity is evident”(Caron 175) and some may even lose their whole livelihood due to head injuries. In this paper I will be examining the aforementioned long-term effects of psychological changes, brain disease, and deterioration of social abilities. Long term effects of head injuries are an epidemic and by identifying these effects and being aware of symptoms or signs may help us better understand them. In recent years, psychological problems have been identified as one of the most prevalent effects caused by concussions...
Words: 1343 - Pages: 6
...You”). Of all sports contributing to the concussion total, football is by far the main contributor. “High school football accounts for 47% of all reported sports concussions, while 33% of these concussions occur during practice,” (“Head Case - Complete”). The main reason for this could be improper technique and teaching, neglect, and other factors. But for these players, high school is followed by college and possibly the National Football League (NFL), where concussions get much more attention and criticism. Concussions in the NFL...
Words: 1578 - Pages: 7
...Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy CTE is a deterioration of the brain and can also be defined as a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which is caused by repetitive head trauma. CTE first came along in 1928 and was described by New Jersey medical examiner, Dr. Harrison Martland. Martland began to notice a group of related symptoms in boxers (confusion, speech problems, tremors, and slow movement). He published an article entitled “Punch Drunk,” in which he describes the boxers as, “cuckoo,” “goofy,” “cutting paper dolls,” or “slug nutty” (Journal of the American Association, 1928). Later, this was termed dementia pugilistica, which actually means dementia of a fighter. With the growth of our sports like American football, symptoms of CTE were being reported in a number of athletes other than boxers and in the 1960s, it was renamed Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy. CTE has become a very popular topic because of its close association with American football, soccer hockey, boxing, and professional wrestling. Several of the affected athletes are retired, but have struggled in their late years with anger, depression, substance abuse, memory/motor disturbances, and suicide. Autopsy results from these particular athletes have proposed a link between these cognitive, emotional, and physical manifestations and CTE. In addition to athletes, soldiers have become another group of concern being that many are returning from the battlefield and have brain injuries along with blast...
Words: 1104 - Pages: 5
...Sport Helmet Use in Soccer Soccer is one of the most played sports in the world. The history of modern soccer dates back to 1815, when the Cambridge Rules were established. The Cambridge Rules eliminated shin kicking and tripping but did nothing for protection of the head for players. Soccer players are competitive by nature, and are willing to go all out to win the game. With that said, how are rule makers making the game safe for young and older athletes? The debate for head protection is at the forefront of modern sports and soccer is at the top of the list. Athletes, such as soccer players, are at a high risk of head or brain injury and youth soccer leagues, high schools, colleges, and professional leagues alike must take a stand to protect their players. There have been multitudes of recent studies on head and brain injuries in sports and the results are troubling. Jenna McLaughlin states that, “Scientific studies have shown that rates of injury in soccer are comparable to football, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby.” When most think of head injuries in sports, soccer seems to slip the minds of those in the conversation. Soccer has a high risk of head injuries that come from player-to-player contact, player-to-ground contact, and player-to-goalpost contact (McLaughlin 1). When looking at the impact of collisions from player-to-player contact, all aspects and possibilities must be considered. Soccer players can collide heads when driving the ball down field...
Words: 1268 - Pages: 6
...the field of competition. Even with rules and regulations meant for the protection of both the players and the integrity of game, traumatic injuries are escalating at an alarming rate. In all leagues ranging from pee-wee to the National Football League (NFL), the athleticism and size of the players are at an all-time high and continues to increase each season. However, such increases in athleticism have highlighted the greatest flaw in modern football: the iconic football helmet has become the single most destructive weapon in sports. Helmets have become the heads of missiles that launch through the air and crush into opponents’ skulls, leaving players with closed head injuries as a result of multiple concussions. The football helmet found its roots with the leatherheads; however the false sense of security and protection the helmet provides has led to the worst injuries the sports industry has ever seen. The multiple hits to the head can and will eventually lead a player to the emergency room with a concussion if players are not properly equipped with the appropriate safety gear. Football has become America’s sport and thus, many high school students are participating in the sport. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) more than 7.2 million high school students participate in football each year (Sport Related Injuries). With the increase in number of players, the...
Words: 1724 - Pages: 7
...risks for traumatic brain injury (TBI) age groups are ages 0-4 and 15-19, which the leading cause of disability and death in young children in the United States. 62,000 children endure brain damages demanding hospitalization as a consequence of motor vehicle smashes, falls, sports injuries, physical abuse and other causes and there are 564,000 children in hospital emergency departments for TBI and released. According to 2004 report to Congress, traumatic brain injury in the United States, there are some factors to lead cause of TBI within the age between 0-4 such as emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths. About 1,300 US children experience severe or fatal head trauma of child abuse each year. Very young children (i.e., infants, toddlers and preschool children) often directly affected, such as crash on the head from a host of mechanisms (including being hit), car crashes, tricycle / bicycle accident, or as child abuse. Sometimes these events can be significant enough to cause a concussion. Determine what to hit a child who may be difficult to immediately assess concussions his head. It may have concussion-like symptoms, but young children do not express in the same way. For example, a child may describe the feeling of nausea and memory loss, or even they cannot explain the wound site. Parents and doctors when considering the presence...
Words: 443 - Pages: 2
...There is a strong chance that you or someone you may know has experienced the unfortunate event of receiving a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or known to most as a concussion. A concussion can be defined as an insult to or deceleration of the head resulting in at least a temporary alteration in consciousness or loss of consciousness of less than 20 minutes, according to Ruben J. Echemendia, editor of the novel Sports Neuropsychology . Experiencing a concussion can possibly lead to temporary problems with memory and balance. Also, receiving multiple concussions can lead to permanent brain damage, for example, chronic traumatic encephalopathy and post concussion syndrome. There are a multitude of ways to experience a TBI, however the most common...
Words: 624 - Pages: 3
...understand traumatic brain injury, what causes it, and what the effects can be. I. Introduction A. Did you realize that an estimated 1.7 million people suffer from a traumatic brain injury in the United States every year, and 52,000 of those die? And each year direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated 60 billion in the United States. B. According to “brainline.org,” brain injuries are most often caused by motor vehicle crashes, sports injuries, and simple falls. C. Traumatic brain injury can range from being mild as in a slight concussion to severe as an unconsciousness, coma, and even death. D. I will be telling you what traumatic brain injury is, what causes it, and what the effects of traumatic brain injury is. II. Body A. First we are going to go through what traumatic brain injury is. 1. Traumatic brain injury, according to “brainline.org” can be defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. 2. Traumatic brain injury can be a slight contusion, generally caused by a slight bump to the head. 3. Traumatic brain injury can be a bleeding or hemorrhaging of the brain generally caused by a severe blow or the brain hitting the skull. 4. Traumatic brain injury can also result from an object such as a bullet penetrating the brain. B. Now that we know what brain injury is we are going to discuss what causes traumatic brain injury...
Words: 334 - Pages: 2
...suffering from traumatic post-concussion symptoms and the slippery slope of brain damage caused by concussions. The increase of concussions in sports has had a major effect on athletes and should be re evaluated for safety precautions. Brain damage is caused by a concussion: "Defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain, induced by biomechanical forces” (Halstead 1). In English, it can be described as "A mild brain injury usually caused by a bump or blow to the head” (Tasian 1). “Mild: used to describe the trauma of the physical...
Words: 1602 - Pages: 7
...Title: Traumatic Brain Injury General Purpose: To inform Specific Purpose: After listening to my speech the audience will better understand traumatic brain injury, what causes it, and what the effects can be. I. Introduction A. Did you realize that an estimated 1.7 million people suffer from a traumatic brain injury in the United States every year, and 52,000 of those die? And each year direct medical costs and indirect costs such as lost productivity of TBI totaled an estimated 60 billion in the United States. B. According to “brainline.org,” brain injuries are most often caused by motor vehicle crashes, sports injuries, and simple falls. C. Traumatic brain injury can range from being mild as in a slight concussion to severe as an unconsciousness, coma, and even death. D. I will be telling you what traumatic brain injury is, what causes it, and what the effects of traumatic brain injury is. II. Body A. First we are going to go through what traumatic brain injury is. 1. Traumatic brain injury, according to “brainline.org” can be defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. 2. Traumatic brain injury can be a slight contusion, generally caused by a slight bump to the head. 3. Traumatic brain injury can be a bleeding or hemorrhaging of the brain generally caused by a severe blow or the brain hitting the skull. 4. Traumatic brain injury can also result from an object such as a...
Words: 654 - Pages: 3
...mild traumatic brain injury is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. It is typically defined as a head injury with a temporary loss of brain function. Symptoms Symptoms include a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms, which may not be recognized if subtle. A variety of signs accompany concussion including headache, feeling in a fog, and emotional changeability. In general, the signs can be categorized into physical signs, behavioral changes, cognitive impairment, and sleep disturbances. It is not clear exactly what damage is done and how the symptoms are caused, but stretching of axons and changes in ion channels are involved. Cellular damage has reportedly...
Words: 835 - Pages: 4
