Brain Injury Information

Traumatic Brain Injury

If the human heart is the engine of our bodies, then the brain is the processor: the internal super computer. Our brains are responsible for monitoring and executing every function of our body that keeps us alive. Much like a computer, the brain is susceptible to corruption and damages. When severe problems occur, the brain loses its ability to monitor the body properly. This, in turn, leads to malfunctions across the rest of the body. One reason for these problems is internal or congenital problems. These issues, such as stroke and under development, are the result of genetic problems or an unhealthy life style. However, another type of injury to the brain exists: traumatic brain injury. These types of injuries occur when a blow, jolt, or penetrating force prevents the brain from functioning properly. These injuries can be as simple as a mild concussion or as severe as life threatening brain loss.

While not all blows or jostles to the head result in brain injury, any perceived change in consciousness or awareness resulting from such an impact is classified as a traumatic brain injury. The loss or change in consciousness can be as short as a few moments (in the case of a mild concussion) or extremely long term. The effects of the more long term injuries are serious; amnesia and other mental disorders can develop out of such long absences of consciousness. The reason for this is the brain losing its ability to function. While medical machines can take over for the brain and keep other bodily systems on line (i.e. the heart, lungs and liver), there exists no such machine to activate the sleeping cells of the brain.

Traumatic brain injuries affect an alarming number of people every year in the United States. In a given year, over 1.1 million individuals are delivered to hospital emergency rooms to be treated for severe traumatic head injuries. Of these people, 250,000 of them are required to remain under hospital care for further monitoring and treatment. In addition to this, over 50,000 individuals die as a result of these injuries in hospitals each year. Another possibility worth considering is the number of people in the United States who can’t afford or choose not to own health insurance. Due to this factor, the number of unreported traumatic head injuries is unknown. This number could very well be equal to the number of admitted patients.  

Knowing the shear amount of individuals who experience such catastrophic injuries might lead one to assume that there are a vast number of dangers which cause these situations. Sadly, this is not the case. Quite the contrary, most of these injuries to the head can be attributed to four easily preventable scenarios. According to the Brain Injury Association of America, roughly 30 percent of these traumas are caused from accidental falls. The next highest means for acquiring an injury of this magnitude is motor vehicle accidents at 20 percent.  An additional 20 percent of these injuries are caused from accidental blows of the head against something or vice versa. Finally, and perhaps more troubling than the rest, roughly 10 percent come as a result of assaults. In total, almost 80 percent of all traumatic head injuries come from accidental or preventable scenarios.