Today our Director of Operations, Jenna Schrumpf, is in Lansing to meet with fellow brain injury advocates and legislative leaders. We invite you to follow along her day in our Capitol Day interactive timeline!
The Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA) has put together the following Fact Sheet with statistics and other information to raise awareness and educate the public about brain injuries.
Brain Injury Association of America (BIAA), T. (2015). Brain Injury Facts & Statistics. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
A Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) refers to the amount of damage done to the brain tissue resulting from a closed or open head injury. The Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) is most often used by doctors to determine the category of the TBI in which the “severity” ranges from mild (briefly disoriented/loss of consciousness) to moderate to severe (unconscious for an extended period of time).
No two brain injuries are the same. However, because this injury affects the brain, major lifestyle (and possibly personality) changes might occur. For example, you or someone you know who suffered a TBI may now require either short-term or long-term care. In the following article, we will list the initial aspects of a Traumatic Brain Injury.
What causes a TBI?
A blow to the head can occur from a variety of accidents. Some examples include:
- A motor vehicle crash
- Sports injuries
- A fall
- Assaults
- A bicycle crash
- Military service-related injuries
- Child abuse/domestic violence incidents
- The skull being struck by a blunt or heavy object
Common Symptoms After a Mild TBI
- Headaches
- Bruises—When the head is hit, the brain can be shaken around inside the skull. If the shaking was hard enough, the brain can get bruised as it hits the skull. Just like bruises you might get on your arms or legs, these go away in time.
- Swelling— If there are lots of bruises, there also might be swelling. Swelling takes longer than bruising to return to normal.
- Dizziness
- Nausea and sensitivity to light and sound
- Snapped nerve fibers—The brain is made of millions of cells called neurons that are connected to each other by long, thin fibers called axons. If the TBI is serious enough, some of these axons can snap or break during a concussion. When this happens, different cells in your brain cannot communicate properly with each other. With time, however, these will heal and many patients have a complete recovery.
- Broken blood vessels—Like any other part of the body, the brain has blood vessels in it. If a TBI is very serious, some of these blood vessels can tear and bleed soon after the injury. Usually, the bleeding stops on its own and the blood vessels heal like any other cut does.
It’s important to note that these symptoms may not occur right away and could appear days or even weeks after the accident.
Determining the level of the TBI
- Severity of initial injury
- Rate/completeness of physiological recovery
- Functions affected such as cognitive, motor, sensory, verbal, and emotion
- Meaning of dysfunction in the individual’s life
- Resources available to aid recovery of function
Where can you go for support?
- Brain Injury Association of Michigan (BIAMI) Helpline: 800-772-4323 or www.biami.org.
- Michigan Department of Community Health TBI website, www.michigan.gov/tbi, has many free educational materials including:
- Michigan Resource Guide for Persons with Traumatic Brain Injury and Their Families, a 96-page directory of resources that provides information about TBI, the signs of TBI and a wide variety of services that are available.
- Dobson Healthcare: 866-866-8984 or www.dobsonhealthcare.com.
Evans, R.W., Evans, R.I., & Sharp, M.J. (1994). The physician survey on the post-concussion and whiplash syndromes. Headache, 34, 268-74.
Kashluba, S., Paniak, C., Blake, T., et al. (2004). A longitudinal, controlled study of patient complaints following treated mild traumatic brain injury.
Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology. 19, 805-816.
McCrea, M., Guskiewicz, K.M., Marshall, S.W., et al. (2003). Acute Effects and Recovery Time Following Concussion in Collegiate Football
Players – The NCAA Concussion Study. Journal of the American Medical Association, 290, 2556-2563.
Mittenberg, W., Zielinski, R.E., & Fichera, S. (1993). Recovery from mild head injury: A treatment manual for Patients. Psychotherapy in Private
Practice, 12, 37-52.
Mount Sinai Medical Center. (n.d.). What Happens Immediately After the Injury? Retrieved February 10, 2016 from brainline.org.
Rohling, M.L., Meyers, J.E., & Millis, S.R. (2003). Neuropsychological Impairment Following Traumatic Brain Injury: A Dose-Response Analysis.
The Clinical Neurolopsycholoigist 17, 289-302.
Traumatic Brain Injury.com, LLC. (n.d.). Mild TBI Symptoms. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from traumaticbraininjury.com.
Traumatic Brain Injury.com, LLC. (n.d.). Severe TBI Symptoms. Retrieved February 10, 2016, from traumaticbraininjury.com.
Photo: Chlossser, M. (2015). Slip and Fall Accidents the Leading Cause of Traumatic Brain Injury. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
A brain injury can happen anytime, anywhere to anyone – brain injuries do not discriminate. Did you know that 1.7 million people will sustain a brain injury each year? An injury that happens in an instant can bring a lifetime of physical, cognitive and behavior challenges and early, equal and adequate access to care will greatly increase overall quality of life.
We honor the millions of people with brain injury, who with proper acute care, therapeutic rehabilitation and adequate long-term supports, are living with the successes and challenges that each day brings. Our goals this year are to sustain and bolster brain injury programs, increase access to care and preserve vital brain injury research.
Dobson is committed to providing those who have sustained a traumatic brain injury cutting edge services in their homes. We have a staff of committed Certified Brain Injury Specialist’s who will be able to assist our clients, their families, and care providers with the support they will need during the difficult transition into a life affected by brain injury. We are here for you as a resource if you have any questions about care or what you may be needing in the future with your changing needs. Please, feel free to contact our office at anytime, 24/7, if you have a pressing question or need about a individual with a brain injury.
Dar Warner-Trask, Certified Brain Injury Specialist
First things first…Important to remember…
- A person with a brain injury is a person first
- No two brain injuries are exactly the same
- The effects of any brain injury are complex and vary greatly with each person
- The effects of any brain injury depend on things like cause, location of the brain injury and severity of the injury
Let’s talk about the “lobes” or sections of the brain. There are four: Frontal, Temporal, Parietal and Occipital. This will be very basic information about each of the lobes of the brain. Some behaviors/deficits may be explained by knowing which section of the brain is injured, and by understanding the basic functions of those lobes.
Frontal Lobe: Situated at the front of the skull, the “forehead region”, our frontal lobes are known as our emotional control center and are also, “home to our personality”. The frontal lobe is associated with motor skills, reasoning, higher level awareness/cognition and expressive language. This lobe receives information from other lobes of the brain and utilizes it to carry out body movements.
Temporal Lobes: Located on either side of the skull, above the ear, the temporal lobes are associated with visual and auditory (hearing) input. They provide the organization of the input. Persons with injury to the temporal lobe may have difficulty placing words or pictures into categories. They are highly associated with memory skills. Left temporal injury may result in impaired memory for verbal material, while right temporal injury may result in the inability to recall non verbal material, i.e. music, drawings. Severe damage to the temporal lobe may also increase unfavorable sexual behavior.
Parietal Lobe: The parietal lobe is the middle section of the brain, located near the back and top of the head. This lobe is responsible for processing tactile sensory information such as touch, pain, pressure, etc. An important section of the brain is located in the parietal lobe and is essential to the processing of the body’s senses.
Occipital Lobe: The occipital lobe is located in the back portion of the brain. It is associated with vision. An important section of this lobe of the brain is the primary visual cortex. This area receives and interprets information from the retinas of the eyes. Damage to this lobe can cause a variety of visual disturbances and even blindness.
Again, no two brain injuries are exactly alike. Every person will respond and recover at a different rate. This is just meant to help you to understand a little more on why the deficit you may be seeing with your brain injured loved one, is present.
As stated in the November TBI tip, traumatic brain injuries can be mild, moderate or severe. Before you can understand the classification of a brain injury, it is important to understand the “rating” system called the Glasgow Coma Scale, otherwise referred to as GCS. This scale is a universally applied measure, indicating the severity of the brain injury. The “grade” is determined as early as at the scene of the injury, or in the Emergency Room . The GCS assigns a numerical value to patient reactions in three areas; eye opening, body movement, and speech. Each area is assigned a number and when added together, the Glasgow Coma Score for the patient is assigned. The ideal total score is 15. The severity of the injury is based on the score received. The Glasgow Coma Scale is as follows:
Eye Opening:
Opens eyes spontaneously: 4
Opens eyes to speech: 3
Opens eyes to pain: 2
Does not open eyes: 1
Body Movement:
Obeys simple commands: 6
Attempts to move from pain: 5
Withdraws from pain: 4
Moves muscles abnormally: 3
Moves muscles involuntarily: 2
Does not respond to pain: 1
Speech:
Speaks clearly and appropriately: 5
Converses with confusion: 4
Uses inappropriate words: 3
Makes incomprehensible sounds: 2
Makes no sounds: 1
After evaluation, the score for each area is added. The total score becomes a broad measure of how well a TBI victim will recover.
13-15 Mild Brain injury
9-12 Moderate Brain Injury
3-8 Severe Brain Injury
However, based on my personal experience with TBI victims, I have seen that predicting long term outcome can be “risky”. Patients have surprised medical personnel for many years. A high score doesn’t necessarily mean a favorable outcome and a low score doesn’t necessarily indicate a poor outcome. As you will often hear me say…THERE’S ALWAYS HOPE!
Dar Warner, L.P.N., C.B.I.S. can be reached at darwarner@dobsonhealthcare.com or by calling (866) 866-8984
Hi!
My name is Darling Warner and I am an LPN and a Certified Brain Injury Specialist. Nearly 10 years ago, I took a leap of faith and changed my “comfort zone” nursing career from a quiet, stable office nurse and took on a very challenging new career in nursing taking care of Traumatic Brain Injury victims. I have not had one nano-second of regret since making that move and as a result, TBI has become my passion with regard to my nursing career.
I would like to share with you a “TBI TIDBIT” monthly. I’ll try to keep it simple and yet informative. If ever you have a question or if you are a TBI survivor or family member that just needs someone to talk to, I’m a phone call away. I look forward to hearing from you about different topics you would like for me to cover. Sharing my passion for TBI care with you is the greatest gift I could give!
Let’s start with the definition of a Traumatic Brain Injury:
Also referred to as a TBI, it is an injury to the brain in which an external event or object, i.e. auto, motorcycle or snowmobile accident, gunshot wound, a fall or an assault, is the cause. The “blow” to the head causes the brain to “collide” with the inside of the skull, which is immovable, causing a disruption in the “electricity” that is transferred from the brain to the rest of the body. The injury can vary from mild, to moderate or severe, and the recovery of the patient varies based on the severity of the injury.
Please look for my next post coming Mid-December that will discuss in detail the different degrees of a Traumatic Brain Injury.
Darling Warner can be contacted at darlingwarner@dobsonhealthcare.com or by calling (866) 866-8984