A Traumatic Brain Injury CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE
The sad truth is, a TBI can happen to anyone, at any age, at any time.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), each year traumatic brain injuries (TBI) contribute to a substantial number of deaths and cases of permanent disability. A TBI is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild” (i.e., a brief change in mental status or consciousness) to “severe” (i.e., an extended period of unconsciousness or memory loss after the injury). Most TBIs that occur each year are mild, commonly called concussions (1).
Of them, 2.5 million, nearly 90%, are treated and released from an emergency department, but many still have long term debilitating post-concussion symptoms. Direct medical costs and indirect costs of TBI, such as lost productivity, totaled an estimated $60 billion in the United States in 2000 (2).
Post-concussion symptoms include:
· Headaches
· Dizziness
· Fatigue
· Irritability
· Anxiety
· Insomnia
· Loss of concentration and memory
· Ringing in the ears
· Blurry vision
· Noise and light sensitivity
· Rarely, decreases in taste and smell (3)
Many concussions seem to be caused by unforeseeable events. However, the number one cause of a traumatic brain injury in most age groups is falling and hitting your head. In fact, 47% of all brain injuries are due to falls (4). If you could do something to ensure your balance is the best it could be and your brain is the sharpest, fastest and most accurate it could be to possibly prevent the main cause of a brain injury, would you do it?
The good news is, there is technology out there that can assess your brain function and therapies that can improve it and we have it right here in your backyard.
At Better Brain & Body, we utilize several cutting-edge diagnostics to assess your balance, reaction times, accuracies to targets, ability to stay focused on a target, timing and rhythm of the brain. We also perform a complete neurological exam to assess your sensory and motor (movement) systems, how you perceive yourself in space and a gait analysis (how you move when you walk). We take all this information and give you a baseline of your brain and body function.
Then, if you have a brain injury, stroke, or even if you start to feel like you’re just not remembering things as well as you used to, we will use your baseline to compare you to where you were before. Depending on your results, you may also decide to do everything you can to improve your brain function to get it to be the best it can be to possibly help prevent falls, strokes, dementia, etc.
If you would like to know more about how we assess brain function and work to improve it, please call our office to set up a free 15-minute consultation. 704-752-8100.
References:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. Report to Congress on mild traumatic brain injury in the United States: steps to prevent a serious public health problem. Atlanta (GA): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 2003.
Coronado VG, Haileyesus T, Cheng TA, Bell JM, Haarbauer-Krupa J, Lionbarger MR, Flores-Herrera J, McGuire LC, Gilchrist J. Trends in sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries treated in US emergency departments: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System-All Injury Program (NEISS-AIP) 2001-2012. J Head Trauma Rehabil 2015; 30 (3): 185–197.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2019). Surveillance Report of Traumatic Brain Injury-related Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths—United States, 2014. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.