The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the latest surveillance report about traumatic brain injury (TBI) deaths. The information, collected from 1997 to 2007, is compiled to help provide insights to help doctors, public health officials, and other professionals assess the impact of brain-related injuries.

There is some good news in the report:  The death rate from TBI-related injuries decreased by 8.2% compared to the previous 10 years. However, the bad news far outweighs the good. According to the CDC:

• About one-third of all injury-related deaths—or about 53,000 cases—involve traumatic brain injury.
• Despite the overall decreased death rate, the rate of TBI-related death increased for people age 75 and older.
• TBI deaths are three times higher among men than women.
• The top three causes of TBI-related deaths are firearms, automobile wrecks, and falls. Compared to the previous 10 years, the incidence of deaths related to falls is the only one to have increased.

To read a full copy of the report, click here:  CDC report on TBI

The goal of Brain Injury Awareness Month is to help the public learn more about brain injury, and to improve the lives of everyone affected–those who are living with brain injury, and their families and caregivers. To play our part, we have created our own quiz to help test your level of awareness.

1. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), how many people in the United States receive treatment for brain injury every year?

• (a)  1,700
• (b)  17,000
• (c)  170,000
• (d)  1,700,000

ANSWER: (d) And that doesn’t even include all the people who receive a head injury but don’t seek treatment.

2. Is a concussion considered a brain injury?

• (a)  yes
• (b)  no

ANSWER: (a) Anyone who reads this blog knows that concussion is definitely a form of brain injury. In fact, some experts are trying to have concussion called by a more accurately descriptive name: mild traumatic brain injury, or MTBI.

3. Which of the following is NOT a possible symptom of brain injury?

• (a)  moodiness
• (b)  loss of sexual interest
• (c)  slurred speech
• (d)  hallucination
• (e)  difficulty doing math
• (f)  inability to multitask
• (g)  not recognizing your own arm
• (h)  color blindness
• (i)  insomnia

ANSWER: This was a trick question…they are all possible symptoms of brain injury.

4. Which of the following is NOT an appropriate member of a brain injury treatment team?

• (a)  neurologist
• (b)  psychologist
• (c)  physical therapist
• (d)  job coach
• (e)  attorney

ANSWER: Another trick question…all of these professionals are important for improving the medical, psychological, and financial situation of a person with brain injury.

5. According to the National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research, which sport is the number-one cause of brain injury among high school and college female athletes?

• (a)  Gymnastics
• (b)  Field Hockey
• (c)  Cheerleading
• (d)  Soccer

ANSWER: (c) It’s not even close. Cheerleading injuries accounts for about 65% of serious catastrophic injuries.

6. What is the leading cause of traumatic brain injury among all age groups?

• (a)  Motor vehicle wrecks
• (b)  Falls
• (c)  Sports injuries
• (d)  Assault

ANSWER: (b) Falls are the cause of about 35% of all brain injuries for all age groups. Motor vehicle wrecks are the second leading cause of traumatic brain injury.

7. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), about how much is the lifetime cost for one person surviving a severe traumatic brain injury?

• (a)  about $1 million
• (b)  about $2 million
• (c)  about $3 million
• (d)  about $4 million
• (e)  more than $4 million

ANSWER: (e) The great cost of taking care of a person with severe brain injury is one reason why it is so important to talk with a lawyer who is experienced in handling brain injury cases. You want to make sure the injured person gets all the compensation he or she is entitled to. Covering the costs is next to impossible without financial help. injury.

8. Which of the following are good ways to prevent head and brain injury?

• (a)  Wearing a helmet while riding a bicycle
• (b)  Wearing a helmet while riding a motorcycle
• (c)  Wearing a seatbelt while driving or riding in a motor vehicle
• (d)  Removing or securing throw-rugs in a house
• (e)  Removing snow and ice from walkways, driveways, and outdoor steps
• (f)  all of the above

ANSWER: (f) You knew that would be the answer! Preventing brain injury means being aware of potential trouble areas, taking an abundance of care to keep areas free from fall hazards, and protecting your head while engaging in high-risk activities.

So, how did you do?

If you want more information, feel free to visit our traumatic brain injury page on the HensonFuerst website at http://www.lawmed.com/. Stay safe!

There was a story on National Public Radio (NPR) today about the growing concern over concussion in youth sports. This is a topic that has been in the news (and in our own blogs) this entire year, and it shows no sign of going away. Thank heaven! The more voices that join the chorus of concern, the healthier our children will be now, and in the future.

According to the story, concussions are now the second most common injury in kids’ sports. And due to more sports opportunities and a greater emphasis on performance, the hits are not only more frequent, but harder than ever before. On the scientific side, we now know that concussion is not a simple, benign bump on the head. As described by NPR:

Concussions used to be described as a brain bruise, but doctors now like to say that it’s a problem with the brain’s function, a problem that can’t be detected by MRI or CT scan. When the brain suddenly slams to a stop, the brain’s neurons all fire at once. That surge of energy temporarily messes up the brain’s electrical and chemical signal system, making it hard to think straight.

After kids suffers a concussion, doctors recommend that they rest their brains as well as their bodies. They are sidelined from sports until cleared by a doctor, and they need to cut back on everything that requires complex thought including playing a musical instrument and even texting. Once their brains are healed, kids are asked to ease slowly back into their usual routine.

…some schools are trying to do a better job of monitoring student athletes by taking a page from the NFL’s playbook. Last year, Churchill High School in Potomac, Md., started assessing student athletes’ memory and reaction time with the online ImPACT test, the same test used in the NFL, to see how their brains work.

“If there’s a potential concussion and they retest, we look for abnormalities,” says Dave Kelley, the athletic director at Churchill. “If they perform poorly on memorization or don’t react as quickly, that may show signs of a brain injury.” Kelley has benched eight or nine students in the past 18 months whose second tests suggested a concussion. [from the NPR story]

These measures sometimes seem like overkill to parents and coaches who grew up in a time when athletes were encouraged to “walk off” the pain and disorientation of a concussion. But studies have shown that concussions—especially multiple concussions—greatly increase the risk of permanent brain damage. In the long run, concussions may even lead to premature dementia and even death.

The brain injury attorneys of HensonFuerst believe that there’s no such thing as “too much” concern about kids’ concussions. A child has one brain to last a lifetime…how crazy is it to risk permanent injury for the sake of a game?

RESOURCES

To read or listen to the NPR story, click here: NPR Concussion Story

To read our blogs about concussion and other brain injury topics, click here: HensonFuerst TBI blog

You can also read more about traumatic brain injury on our dedicated web page: HensonFuerst TBI website.  If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

Also, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed a concussion awareness campaign called “Heads Up Youth Sports.” To see the Heads Up informational poster, click here: Heads Up Concussion Poster

A report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that the number of injuries are often under-counted. In addition, the severity of symptoms is underestimated. For example, some states only require that injured athletes be removed from play for the rest of the day… and yet, a study by the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington found that more than 80% of students who experienced a concussion reported a significant worsening of symptoms over the first four weeks after attempting to return to school academics. (From article in USA Today.)

The primary federal program directed specifically at preventing concussion in high school sports is Heads Up: Concussion in Youth Sports, a program of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This program provides information for coaches, trainers, athletes, and parents, including information about how long a child should sit on the sidelines after concussion. For example:

“Several factors may affect decisions about when it is safe for an athlete to participate in sports again, which are referred to as return-to-play decisions. For example, research has shown that athletes who have sustained one concussion are at increased risk of sustaining another concussion. An athlete who sustains a repeat concussion before the brain recovers from the first—within hours, days, or weeks—may recover more slowly or may have increased likelihood of long-term consequences. Research has also shown that children and adolescents are more likely than adults to sustain a concussion and take longer to recover from one, although the reasons for this difference remain unclear.” (from the GAO report)

What is clear is that concussion–more precisely known as mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI)–is more common than estimated, more damaging to young brains than most people think, and not as respected as it should be. What we’ve learned from studying adult athletes is that repeated mild head trauma can lead to permanent and debilitating brain injury, including early dementia and death.  No one encourages young people to get injured, but there is a strong culture encouraging kids to get back in the game, and to play through the pain. The government’s report is the first step in making sure everyone is aware of the potential severity of every head injury.

(For more information about brain injury, visit HensonFuerst dedicated web page:  HensonFuerst TBI page.)

According to a new report by the CDC, every year about 1.7 million people in the United States suffer traumatic brain injuries (TBI) every year, and more than 50,000 people die of their injuries. This study looked at injuries suffered during the 2002-2006 survey period.

Compared to previous surveys, the incidence of TBI-related emergency hospital visits increased by 14.4%, and the incidence of hospitalization increased by 19.5%. By some definitions, this could be called an epidemic.

To download a free copy of the CDC report click the link at the bottom of the press release here: CDC press release.

Some highlights of the study:

• TBIs are responsible for about 30% of all injury-related deaths in the United States.
• The leading cause of TBI is falls. And falls are most common among children younger than age 5 and adults age 75 and older.
• The second leading cause of TBI is road traffic injury.

HensonFuerst is active in fundraising to support TBI awareness, prevention, and treatment. To read more about brain injury, see our brain injury page.