Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Case Studies

There are a countless number of students in high school and college throughout all of the U.S. that participate in sports and physical activities. High school sports are a fun and enjoyable way for young adults to compete and play in an organized setting. Many of these sports involve a copious amount of risk for injury. There are preventative measures to a certain extent in most sports to limit the risk of injury as much as possible. There are an umpteen number of injuries that one can sustain during the participation of sports. One of these injuries that should be put on the radar is the concussion. Concussions and serious brain injuries

When you have a concussion it can be hard to focus, you can have lower test scores, and every time you get a concussion you damage your brain long term more and more [Newsela]. Also, after you get one concussion you have a better chance of multiple concussions, like cognitive impairments, chronic traumatic encephalopathy, and also it can cause post concussion syndrome [Flynn]. 9/10 teens who continue to show symptoms of brain injury have academic problems like headaches and bad concentration. Once you have multiple concussions you can get syndrome like cognitive impairments (MCI's), chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), and post-concussion syndrome (PCS). Headache (85%) and Dizziness (70-80%) are most commonly reported symptoms immediately following concussions for injured athletes [Flynn].“The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury Research in Chapel Hill, NC, reported 35 cases of Second-impact syndrome [SIS] among American football players from

Concussions are injuries to the brain that can be caused by any significant blunt force trauma to the head such as a fall, car accident, being struck on the head with an object, or sports injury. Sports are second only to motor vehicle accidents as the leading cause of traumatic brain injury particularly among people who are 15 to 24 years old (Solomon, 2006). Pediatric physicians care for a significant number of patients who are involved in sport-related activities in schools or clubs, however most sport-related concussions are never diagnosed because young athletes may not recognize or report the symptoms of a concussion. It is important for physicians to know that although concussions are the most minor of traumatic brain injuries, if not detected and managed properly, they can lead to more serious short-term and long-term issues.

Concussions are a very common sports injury, especially in contact and collision sports. They are also known as mild traumatic brain injury, or mTBI. “Neuroscientific studies have documented that concussions,

Concussions or mild traumatic brain injuries (MTBI) are the most common forms of traumatic brain injury. There are between 1.6 and 3.8 million concussions a year that occur due to sports and recreation accidents alone (CDC). Mild concussions and MTBIs were once thought to be insignificant in terms of consequences. However, there now is significant evidence that neurological even with what is thought to be a mild injury, physiological, and cognitive changes can occur. Individuals sustaining mild brain injuries often report an assortment of physical, cognitive, and emotional/behavioral symptoms referred to as post concussion syndrome (PCS). There are many symptoms associated with PCS, but these symptoms are often mistaken as behavior, mood, and/or adjustment disorders.

In 2006, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that approximately 1.6 million to 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur each year in the United States (Langois, Rutland-Brown, & Wald, 2006). Sport-related concussions are a subset of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and are defined as a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain (McCrory et al., 2012). The typical signs and symptoms associated with a concussion include confusion, amnesia, headache, dizziness, nausea, loss of balance, and/or poor concentration (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2010).

Kids who have suffered a concussion usually report having headaches and fatigue which makes learning difficult. A study showed that the more difficult a students classes were the more the concussion interfered with the work they did. Some researchers have recommended that the healthcare professionals give families post-concussion plans that would pass onto the school. Many of the students that got concussions had problems with note taking and completing their homework. These factors may be overlooked when a child is diagnosed and could lead to a drop in their grades.

Making sure the pediatric athlete and their parents understand and adhere to continued care is so vital. The first step after a hit to the head or an injury that causes the head to move back and forth, is to get evaluated and watch out for common signs and symptoms of a concussion. Common signs are: confusion, forgetfulness, disoriented, poor balance, altered speech, vision changes, and changes in behavior, personality, and mood. Continued care and assessment is important, because there can be short and long-term effects of concussions which affect thinking, learning, behavior, and emotions. After a concussion, a victim is supposed to rest and gradually return to the sport after being cleared by a physician. Following up with doctors is very important and waiting for the appropriate time to return to sports is

Health professionals will often interchange between the two terms, concussion and mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), when discussing this health condition (Halstead, Walter, Council on Sports, & Fitness, 2010). A concussion is a mild traumatic brain injury resulting from a traumatic event which causes the affected individual to experience temporary neurological deficits, these are a result of “biomechanical forces” that have reached the head taking effect on the brain (Jordan, 2013; Paul McCrory et al., 2009; Silver, McAllister, & Yudofsky, 2011). This type of injury usually presents with multiple post concussive symptoms, although in some cases these symptoms do not present themselves until later (Paul McCrory et al., 2009), in which can result in the concussion going unnoticed.

A concussion or mild traumatic brain injury(mTBI) is an acceleration/deceleration injury resulting from biomechanical forces transmitted to the cerebral tissues from impacts to the head (Broglio). Concussive sport injuries make up the majority of all brain injuries in the United States with 1.6 to 3.8 million cases every year. Every year athletes get bigger, better, faster, and stronger leading to higher collision forces and an increase in concussive injuries. The symptoms of concussions often appear quickly and resolve randomly making it difficult to be identified and diagnosed. Common symptoms of mTBI include

In recent years an abundance of brain injury research has provided evidence of the lifelong impairments affecting children who have sustained a sports related concussion. Although the information on and how to prevent sports related concussions have been distributed among both athletic coaches, faculty and parents alike, sports related concussions often go unreported. Lack of proper education has lead parents and coaches to believe sports related concussions as being “minor injuries” (Macdonald).

Perhaps one of the least understood injuries is a Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), otherwise known as a concussion. Over 1,000,000 concussions occur the United States every year (Majerske et al., 2008), and can be caused by any blow to the head. It is likely that many concussions do not go diagnosed. 300,000 of these concussion have been contributed to sports related injury (Majerske et al., 2008), making the study of sports related concussions in athletes the most important and easiest subjects to study.

Concussion, also known as minor head trauma or mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is the most common type of traumatic brain injury. It is typically defined as a head injury with a temporary loss of brain function. Symptoms include a variety of physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms, which may not be recognized if subtle. A variety of signs accompany concussion including headache, feeling in a fog, and emotional changeability. In general, the signs can be categorized into physical signs (such as loss of consciousness or amnesia), behavioral changes (such as irritability), cognitive impairment (such as slowed reaction times), and sleep disturbances.[1] Fewer than 10% of sports-related concussions among children are associated with loss of consciousness.[2]

Before we can recognize the symptoms, we must first understand what concussion actually is. Minor traumatic brain injury (Mtbi) is the medical term used when there is a sudden onset but brief loss of cognitive function that occurs after a blow or other moderate trauma to the head that jars or shakes the brain inside the skull. Normally, the fluid around the brain acts like a layer of protection that keeps your brain from knocking into your skull. However, with moderate force, the brain can hit the cranial/ mandible and become injured.

It is also not uncommon for the athlete to not show any symptoms until hours or days after the initial incident (CDC).There are many recognizable signs that result from a concussion including; slurred speech, poor concentration, personality changes, inappropriate emotions and playing behavior, decreased playing ability, along with confusion and feeling disoriented (Children’s Memorial Hospital). The most observable symptoms are headaches that do not seem to get any better, pressure felt in the head, balance problems, dizziness, nausea, sensitivity to light and noise, hearing problems and ringing in the ears. The athlete may also feel “dinged”, “foggy”, or “dazed”, and may see stars, flashing lights, or have double vision. The list continues with vomiting, irritability, weakness in limbs, a vacant stare, a glassy-eyed stare, slow to answer questions or follow directions, sleep disturbances, and the most obvious, loss of consciousness (Children’s Memorial Hospital). It is important to keep in mind that an athlete may or may not have any or all of these symptoms. All athletes are different and it may take a while for some of these signs to become noticeable.