Brain Injury: Frequently Asked Questions
How is brain injury diagnosed?
When there is evidence of gross damage to the brain, such as hemorrhaging, swelling or contusions. These physical findings are detected by CAT-scan (CT scan) or Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). Where the damage is minimal, a diagnosis is made by obtaining history from the patient, the symptoms reported by the patient and the results of neuropsychological testing.
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What are the symptoms of brain injury?
Although the impact of a severe brain injury is obvious, the lingering effects of a milder brain injury can sometimes be subtle and may not be recognized immediately. Recurring headaches, dizziness or trouble with balance, blurred vision, sleep disturbances, paranoia, eating disorders, loss of memory and loss of writing and reading abilities may be signs of possible brain injury, and there are many others. You should consult your doctor if you notice any unusual changes in behavior after an
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Common symptoms include loss of consciousness, dilated pupils, vomiting, paralysis or muscle weakness, loss of coordination, dizziness, difficulty speaking or swallowing, memory issues, change in personality, difficulty processing thoughts, and problems with body temperature, metabolism, and pulse. A person who experiences any of these symptoms should contact their physician immediately, go to the emergency room, or dial 911.
Source: www.brainandspinalcord.org
What is the treatment for a brain injury?
Immediate treatment often involves surgery to control bleeding in and around the brain, monitoring and controlling intracranial pressure and ensuring adequate blood flow to the brain. Hospitalization is often essential to treat the victim for other injuries and/or infection.
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Anyone with symptoms of a moderate or severe traumatic brain injury should receive medical attention immediately. There are only a handful of facilities in Colorado that specialize in moderate to severe brain injury, which can often result in surgery. However, mild traumatic brain injuries can be treated a number of ways including cognitive retraining and medication. A substantial number of people fully recover from mild traumatic brain injuries.
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What is a Brain Stem Injury?
The brain stem is the part of the brain that connects the rest of the body with the larger portion of the brain. The brain stem is responsible for many functions like breathing, consciousness, eye movements, heart beat, swallowing, facial movements and pupil reactions. All sensations that go to the brain as well as signals from the brain must pass through the brain stem. ...
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The brain stem is the part of the brain that connects the larger portion of the brain with the rest of the body. Many functions are tightly packed in the brain stem and consequently it is quite susceptible to injury. Among other things, the brain stem controls consciousness, breathing, heart beat, eye movements, pupil reactions, swallowing and facial movements. Furthermore, all the sensations going to the brain, as well as the signals from the brain to the muscles, must pass through the brain stem. ...
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The brain stem controls many physiologic systems. An injury to the brain stem is likely to create problems in mobility (gait), motor control and central functions. This could result in difficulty standing, walking, getting in and out of a bed or chair, lifting, throwing, catching, feeding oneself, writing, and performing other normal daily activities. People with brain stem injuries tend to require a prolonged period of medical supervision and may have long-term physical deficits related to their brain stem injuries. ...
Source: www.traumaticbraininjury.net
What is a Head or Brain Injury?
A person who has suffered an injury to the head or brain due to an accident, fall, gunshot wound, car accident or an assault is said to have a head or brain injury or sometimes (depending on the severity) a traumatic brain injury. The injury might have resulted from a lack of oxygen to the brain (a result of a drowning) or a lack of blood supply to the brain (a result of a heart attack) or in the case of a severe car accident, the brain injury might have been caused by several factors. ...
Source: www.brain-injurylawyers.com
When the term head injury is used, it generally refers to an injury to the brain. Any accident or assault that involves some sort of blow to the head would be a brain injury. These injuries can be a result of assaults, auto accidents, gunshot wound, or a fall and the result of other physical problems in the body such as a cut off supply of oxygen to the brain, or a lack of blood supply to the brain. The skull often is a great protection for the brain, and so sometimes the injury is only a headache or mild concussion. ...
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What is the prognosis for brain injury?
It depends upon the type and level of brain injury. Since every brain issue behaves differently, it can sometimes takes months or even years to determine what the eventual prognosis will be. As a general rule of thumb, the more severe the injury is and the longer the recovery period is, the more long-term effects the survivor will experience once recovery has reached a plateau. Once the initial swelling in the brain has reduced, damaged brain cells will begin to function to some degree or another over a period of time. ...
Source: www.brainandspinalcord.org
What Is A Brain Injury?
A brain injury can be caused by a sudden physical damage to the brain when the head forcefully hits an object. Damage from a brain injury varies causing physical, behavioral, or mental changes depending on the area of the brain that is injured. The major causes of a brain injury are falls, sports injuries, violent crimes, and child abuse.
As the brain is involved in just about everything we do, injury to the brain can have a very wide range of effects. These effects vary from one person to another depending on the exact nature of the brain injury and its severity. It is helpful to distinguish between the initial effects when the person first sustained their brain injury and the longer-term effects. Read more about the
effects of brain injury .
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Brain injury can be defined as a type of head injury that is caused by rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head during which the brain bounces off the inside of the skull. Brain injury can also be caused by a car accident, gunshot wound, or other external factor.
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Brain injuries are sustained in two ways: Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) A traumatic brain injury can be sustained by any activity that causes the head to be seriously knocked, causing injury to the brain. For example, a motorcar accident, a sports injury etc. Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) An acquired brain injury is the result of other influences to the brain apart from physical pressure or force. For example, a stroke, hypoxia, a tumour etc.
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Brain injury is an insult to the brain that generally results from an external trauma such as a blow to the head, but may also occur without any physical contact to the head as in a sudden acceleration/deceleration injury caused by a car crash. Trauma or forces exerted on the brain cause damage which often might be at the microscopic level which as a result can impact speech, cognition, behavior, personality, emotions, and perceptions.
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What is an Acquired Brain Injury?
An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is the result of changes in the activity of the brain not related to injury or birth processes. Leading causes are strokes, blood clots, tumors, infections, and lack of oxygen to the brain. Changes may be noted in cognitive (thinking), physical, emotional, and behavioral processes.
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There are currently 5.3 million Americans living with a disability caused by brain injury. Brain injury is acquired damage to the brain, the result of either an external physical force or internal causes, which results in an impairment of cognitive, emotional, and/or physical functioning. It is not of a degenerative or congenital nature but caused by an external physical force or by internal damage such as anoxia (lack of oxygen), stroke, disease, or tumor. ...
Source: www.biak.us
An Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) is the result of changes in the activity of the brain not related to injury or birth processes. Most common causes of acquired brain injury are strokes, blood clots, tumors, infections, and lack of oxygen to the brain.
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How is a brain injury detected?
A brain injury can be detected by a physician through a physical examination. The doctor may ask that the injured patients undergo other diagnostic tests such as CT scans of the brain or a MRI of the brain.
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What is mild brain injury?
Mild traumatic brain Injury is also called subtle acquired brain injury. People with mild or subtle brain injuries have cognitive, psychological and physical symptoms that occur after the injury. They usually do not experience a prolonged period of unconsciousness or coma. In fact, some individuals report no loss of consciousness.
Source: www.traumaticbraininjury.net
Mild brain injury presents with no or brief loss of consciousness. Initial testing may appear normal. The individual may appear dazed or mildly confused. Symptoms include headache, irritability, sleep disturbance, fatigue, pain, memory problems, and depression. Symptoms may last days or months.
Source: www.biaoftn.org
What is a traumatic brain injury?
A traumatic brain injury, which is sometimes called an acquired brain injury or head injury or closed head injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes some type of damage to the brain. The symptoms of a traumatic brain injury are categorized as mild, moderate, or severe depending on the seriousness of the damage. Symptoms of mild traumatic brain injuries include headaches, confusion, dizziness, blurred vision, changes in sleep or mood patterns, and problems with memory, concentration or attention.
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A traumatic brain injury occurs when you receive a violent blow to the head or when an object pierces your skull, damaging your brain tissue. During a jarring blow to the head, your brain can sometimes crash against the wall of your skull, leading to serious brain injuries, the tearing of nerve fibers, or internal bleeding in your brain. The end result is a decrease in normal brain functioning.
Source: www.personalinjury.com
If you experience any forceful contact to your head, and it disrupts your brain’s natural functions, then you’ve experienced a traumatic brain injury, or TBI. Your brain can be injured by other conditions, like infections or strokes, but those kinds of injuries are called “acquired brain injuries,” or ABIs. They can be just as life altering as a TBI. Doctors classify TBIs as either mild, moderate, or severe. Since most TBIs are mild, many people who sustain a TBI find that their symptoms get better over time. ...
Source: brainline.org
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is defined as a blow or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the function of the brain. Not all blows or jolts to the head result in a TBI. The severity of such an injury may range from "mild," i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness to "severe," i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or amnesia after the injury. A TBI can result in short or long-term problems with independent function.
Source: depts.washington.edu
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) , usually the result from a sudden violent blow to the head, is a catastrophic personal injury, affecting one or more areas of the brain, causing a victim to suffer impairment to memory, vision, communication, and/or mobility. Brain injury severity can vary greatly based on the area of the brain affected and the extent of the damage. ...
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What is a severe brain injury?
Severe head injury may be characterized by an extended period of unconsciousness (coma), lasting days to months. Individuals with severe head injuries may make progress, however, often sustain significant permanent impairments.
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How common is brain injury?
Approximately 1.5 million people per year will sustain a head injury in the United States. Of those, the majority are males. The two highest age groups at risk are 0 to 4 years of age and 15 to 19 years of age. Leading causes are falls, motor vehicle accidents, gun shot wounds, and assaults.
Source: www.biaoftn.org
What is the difference between Acquired Brain Injury and Traumatic Brain Injury?
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is a subset of the larger group, Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). Acquired Brain Injuries include all traumatic brain injuries, in addition to non-traumatic brain injuries, such as strokes and meningitis.
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