Traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors and their loved ones face many challenges on the road to recovery, not the least of which understand the recovery process and finding helpful resources. The treatment of TBI is a highly specialized field of medicine that can be difficult to comprehend for people trying to cope with the trauma of a serious brain injury. ASSURED AND ASSOCIATES is dedicated to helping people learn about the major milestones on the road to recovery and providing assistance with resources that will speed the recovery along. Our services include a fully trained in-house staff, Registered Nurses, Licensed Practical nurses, Patient Care Technicians and Certified Nursing Assistants who are highly trained to provide the best care for your loved ones. Our Nurses are exposed to every aspect of brain injury and the C.N.A’s are trained by one of the leading facilities in the industry. They also participate in onsite training at our head office where a specialist who is employed with our organization leads a two day seminar. This ensures competency and that the newest development in the treatment of Traumatic or Mild Brain injury is disseminated in a professional environment.

What is Brain Injury
A Brain Injury also called a head injury or traumatic brain injury occurs when there is damage to the brain because of an external blow to the head. There are two types of brain injuries. The first is called a “closed head injury” This occurs when there is a blow to the head as in a motor vehicle accident or a fall. In such an accident, the skull hits an object. The brain which is inside the skull turns and twists on its axis (the brain stem) causing widespread damage. Also the brain, a soft mass surrounded by fluid that allows it to “float” may rebound against the skull resulting in further damage. There is usually a period of unconsciousness immediately following the trauma which may last minutes, weeks or months.
Because of the twisting and rebounding, the traumatically injured patient usually receives damage or bruising to many parts of the brain. This is called diffuse damage. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) or open head Injury may be caused accidents involving automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. About twenty percent of Traumatic Brain Injury or Open Head Injury is due to violence, such as gunshots and child abuse, and three percent are due to sports injuries.
The latter of the two types of Brain Injury is called Mild Brain Injury. This may occur with no loss of consciousness and possibly only a dazed feeling or confused state lasting a short time.
However, the absence of a significant loss of consciousness does not mean that a person has not suffered a permanent brain injury. A person may also suffer a brain injury without having hit his or her head. Although these injuries may not seem to be as dangerous as injuries involving coma, these injuries can be life altering as in some case as disabling as many coma injuries.
Source: Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Committee of the Head Injury Interdisciplinary Special Interest Group of the American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Published at the Head Trauma Rehabilitation 1993:8 (3) :86-87]

What Are the Signs and Symptoms of TBI?

Mild TBI

Moderate or Severe TBI Symptoms of mild to moderate TBI may be similar to symptoms of mild TBI, but they may also include a headache that gets worse or does not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures, inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the arms or legs, loss of coordination, increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation. Symptoms in Children While children with a TBI may have the same symptoms as adults, there are some symptoms unique to young children, including persistent crying and refusing to nurse or eat. What Are the Causes of TBI? Half of all Traumatic Brain Injuries are due to accidents involving automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, and pedestrians. Motor vehicle accidents are the major cause of TBI in people under age 75. For those 75 and older, falls cause the majority of Traumatic Brain Injury. Approximately twenty percent of Traumatic Brain Injury are due to violence, such as gunshots and child abuse. About three percent are due to sports injuries. What Are the Different Types of TBI? Concussion A concussion is the most minor and common type of TBI. Doctors define a concussion as a short loss of consciousness following a head injury, but many people now refer to any minor injury to the head or brain as a concussion. Skull Fracture Skull fractures occur when the skull cracks or breaks. A depressed skull fracture occurs when pieces of broken skull press into the tissue of the brain. A penetrating skull fracture occurs when something pierces the skull and injures the brain. Contusion A contusion is bruising of the brain. The bruised area swells and bleeds like bruises we can see in the skin or muscle. Contusions often occur with skull fractures. However, even when the outside of the skull is struck by an object and does not break, the impact may be hard enough to cause the brain to bounce off the inside of the skull and suffer a contusion. Contusions can also happen when the head doesn't strike anything. For example, contusions often occur in car accidents after high-speed stops or collisions. In these cases the abrupt forward movement of the head with a sudden stop followed by the head rapidly recoiling backwards causes the brain to bounce off the skull (often it bounces off more than one side of the skull). Shaking a baby violently can cause the same kind of injury

Hematoma

A hematoma is a collection of blood inside the body. The brain is surrounded by a tough outer sheath called the dura. Bleeding in the area between the dura and the skull is called an epidural (above the dura) hematoma. There is an inner sheath that also surrounds the brain that is called the arachnoid membrane. Bleeding between the outer sheath (the dura) and the inner membrane (the arachnoid) is called a subdural (beneath the dura) hematoma. Bleeding inside the brain itself is called an intracerebral hematoma.

Anoxia or Hypoxia (Lack of Oxygen to the Brain)

Without oxygen the cells of the brain die within several minutes. This type of injury is often seen in people who suffer significant blood loss from other I I injuries that decreases blood flow to the brain. A complete lack of oxygen is called anoxia. A reduced supply of oxygen is called hypoxia.

The Source: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes.
Source: Tbirecoverycenter.org.
Source: The Brain Injury Law Office 1997

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