Essay on Brainstem Injuries and the Neuropsychologist

Traumatic brain injury occurs when a person is hit in the head with a blunt force. This significant force to the head can happen playing recreational sports, on the playground, being in a car or motorcycle accident, falling down at home and your head impacting something, a blast or explosion. Traumatic brain injuries are also the leading cause of fatality rate and disability, especially in children, young adults and elderly. TBI is a devastating condition that affects millions of people nationwide, because it can affect the nervous system permanently, it also messes with the neurological, musculoskeletal, cognitive and much more. TBI force a family to deal with not just the physical disability, with the behavioral and emotional roller

As we all know, the human brain is the most insubstantial and vital organ in the human body as it is the command center for every other body part (newscientist.com). Any slight wound to this organ could lead to severe consequences usually encountered at that very moment. It may be an extremely low chance of a major head injury, but it does happen to millions of people annually. One single concussion, provided with the lack of healing, could lead to short-term and long-term memory loss, depression,

Medical and technological advances have led to greater survival rates in individuals suffering from various illness and injury throughout history. This includes individuals who suffer traumatic and nontraumatic brain injuries. Approximately 1.5 million people in the United States sustain a brain injury each year with the survival rate of over 90 percent making brain injury the leading cause for disability in the United States. (Mysiw, Bogner, Corrigan, Fugate, Clinchot, & Kadyan 2006). Cognitive, physical, sensory and behavioral changes are widely noted in individuals in the months and years following a brain injury. However, the psychosocial, psychological and emotional effects of these injuries are less discussed and therefore these aspects can be overlooked when anticipating a course of treatment. Individuals who sustain acquired brain injuries experience significant, lasting impairment in the psychosocial, psychological and emotional aspects of their lives and better understanding of these issues can lead to better treatment and coping skills for these individuals.

The study is a longitudinal study which they will end in 5 years. The athletes will be tested the time after concussion. To begin with the study, the group of study will take each test to get a baseline. The trial will begin with a Symptom Assessment Scale (SAS) before going into the neurocognitive assessment for a concussion. During the self-reported symptomatic (SRS) timeline after injury, the athlete's will self-survey their symptoms each week. Then, the athlete will complete the neurocognitive assessment testing of MACE, SCAT-2, SCAT-3, and ImPACT. For starter, the test will be given to the athlete after 24 hours of symptoms free. Each athlete had to meet the following criteria of completed a baseline assessment on the particular test and SAS before the injury, diagnosed with a concussion and given a follow-up assessment conducted within 72 hours of the injury and denied any symptoms at the SRA assessment point. After 24 hours of the free sign. The testing will have a motor skill of mechanical movement and gross movement. The first test is a baseline to see if any changes occur when the athlete is retested in two-year

Knowing the symptoms of a brain injury is important but, getting treated is even more

Traumatic brain injury is any damage caused to the brain. Individuals with TBI may show aphasia-like symptoms, yet the characteristics of TBI include mostly cognitive processes deficits. Those characteristics include disrupt orientation, attention, memory, visual processing, and executive functions problems. Penitents with TBI experience a blackout that can last anywhere between a few minutes up to months and usually wake up confused and disoriented. They do not have any recollection of the events that occurred. In addition to the common characteristics mentioned earlier, TBI patients exhibit communication deficits that relate to poor cognitive functioning such as problems with word finding, grammatical, spelling, reading, and writing. The cause of TBI is very straightforward, unlike SLI or ASD. Any injury to the head, for example motor vehicle accidents, falls, blast trauma, and more, can cause a TBI. These in turn can cause damage to multiple areas of the brain and impair motor, speech, language, and cognitive functions as discussed. It is important to note that unlike ASD that usually

A traumatic brain injury (“TBI”) occurs when the brain is somehow injured, rattled, or wounded from an external source of force. The means of acquisition and the severity of TBIs are unique to each patient; therefore, symptoms and rehabilitation can vary greatly depending on the patient’s condition following the incident and how they sustained the injury. The severity of a TBI is generally classified into one of three categories: mild, moderate, or severe, and this type of diagnostic criteria influences how a patient with TBI is treated by medical staff and rehabilitation specialists. TBIs can affect a specific part of the brain that was directly impacted, leaving the patients with only one or a few areas of impairment, or the damage can

Having a brain injury from a concussion is not fun. All of the symptoms from a brain injury can make daily life more difficult, both in personal relationships and at work or school. Over time, and especially

Yes, athletes should be required to sit out for longer periods of time when they have a head related injury. High school students are more vulnerable to have a second concussion after the first one, women are more susceptible to concussions then men, and a second concussion can lead to death or severe brain damage.

In the category of physical signs and symptoms experienced by young athletes post traumatic brain injury includes headache, dizziness or balance issues, fatigue, visual problems or photosensitivity, numbness or tingling, nausea, vomiting, tinnitus, and dazed appearance. In the category of cognitive signs and symptoms experienced by young athletes post traumatic brain injury includes inability to concentrate, feeling foggy or sluggish, and reduction in memory capacity, confusion, and delayed responsiveness. In the category of emotional or behavioural signs and symptoms experienced by young athletes post traumatic brain injury includes anxiety, irritability, and depression. In the category of sleep signs and symptoms experienced by young athletes post traumatic brain injury includes excessive drowsiness, inability to fall asleep, and sleeping more or less than usual (Hung et al.,

Considering no two brain injuries are the same, treatment is stipulated accordingly. In the case of mild injury management, it is fairly low maintenance, requiring a lot of rest and over-the-counter pain medicine. However, the patient must be monitored religiously in case of worsening or new symptoms where immediately medical attention is vital. Once cleared by a doctor, the patient steadily returns to their normal schedules. Immediately after moderate and severe injuries, treatment is concentrated on prevention of secondary damage resulting from inflammation, bleeding, or reduced oxygen supply to the brain. Medications prescribed to diminish chance of secondary loss include diuretics, anti-seizure drugs, and coma-inducing drugs. Surgery is crucial in removing hematomas (clotted blood), repairing skull fractures, and opening a window in the skull in order to relieve pressure and allow room for swelling. A large part of treatment is rehabilitation. The goal is to get patients back to their normal daily routines. Rehab usually

The diagnosis and management of concussion is challenging due to often times the physical and cognitive examinations being normal and additional tests are also commonly normal. Assessing cognitive function by asking questions of orientation have inadequate sensitivity to detect mild TBI after head injury.

The submitted records have been reviewed. The member is an adolescent female with a birth date of 05/14/2001. She has a diagnosis of concussion. Her treating provider, Jeffrey Kim, DO, recommended continued occupational therapy from 07/29/2015 – forward.

Signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can be difficult to diagnose. Many of the signs and symptoms vary from person to person or they can take up to a couple of weeks before they surface (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). The signs and symptoms can range from minor signs like blurred vision to more serious signs like loss of consciousness. The signs and symptoms of a traumatic brain injury include: Headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting (Clayton, 1995), unaware of place and time (Farrow, 2004), temporary or prolonged loss of consciousness, amnesia (memory loss), emotional instability, dilated pupils (Levy, 1993), balance problems, blurry vision, sensitivity to light and noise, sluggish or groggy feeling, or concentration problems (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2007). If an athlete has these symptoms they should get immediate medical attention. However, most of these symptoms can be signs of another health problem so they may not have a traumatic brain injury with these

It is also unclear if it is the brain injury itself that causes the result and if it is the same for healthy people.