WHAT IS TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY?:
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) is when there is damage or injury to the brain causing some or all of the following:
Loss of consciousness
Alteration in consciousness or mental status
Temporary loss of memory, also known as Post Traumatic Amnesia or PTA
Structural damage seen on CT scan or MRI
Severity of TBI can be classified as:
Mild
Moderate
Severe
4 PRIMARY MECHANISMS OF DAMAGE:
Direct Impact: When something directly strikes the head.
e.g. Windshield
The Ground
A human using an implement to hit someone e.g. a hammer
Golf ball
Sudden or rapid acceleration/deceleration: When nothing externally directly strikes the head but when the brain inside the skull experiences violent movement.
e.g. Whiplash
Shaken baby syndrome
Penetration Injury: When an object is driven into the brain.
e.g. High Velocity- bullets or shrapnel
Low Velocity- knives or bone fragments from skull fractures
Blast Injury: Caused by the impact of pressure waves created by an explosion or direct injury to the head from the blast.