Q&A: Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury

What is a traumatic brain injury?

There are all types of brain injury, but traumatic injury is its own specific area. A concussion is a mild type of traumatic brain injury. It’s much more frequent than any of us really know. Any blow to the head that results in any neurological symptom is considered a concussion. So, a football player who gets hit in the head and experiences some confusion or a headache would be diagnosed as having a concussion.

What are common symptoms?

Headaches, confusion, vision changes and emotional changes are common. People with head trauma can expect to have one or all these symptoms. It just depends on how hard they were hit, and if they’ve been hit before.

What are common causes?

Sports, automobile accidents and falls are probably the most common causes. Right now, the military is seeing a tremendous amount of brain injuries from explosive devices overseas.

What’s the recovery process like?

The majority of people get better within six weeks. At the one-year mark, more than 90% of people are completely symptom-free. That’s important. When someone has symptoms that don’t disappear immediately, they fear it’s going to last forever. But it will likely heal with time.

Why should people rest after getting a concussion?

It’s important to let damage heal before any further damage happens. If you get hit again while the damage is still there, that’s much, much worse. If you go right back to playing the sport—or whatever you were doing—and sustain another injury, sometimes that changes a temporary or healing brain injury into permanent damage.

What are some of the latest findings?

I’m not sure a miracle cure is right around the corner. But I think we’re going to see more protective devices and improved helmets. They’ve redesigned the return-to-play rules, and it’s honestly saving lives and preserving cognitive function for many, preventing permanent disability.