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Traumatic Brain Injury Essay

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Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Description of the Disability Traumatic brain injury (TBI), or intracranial injury, is a medical diagnosis which refers to closed or penetrative damage to the brain that is caused by an external source. Every year, TBIs affect approximately 150-250 people in a population of 100,000 (León-Carrión, Domínguez-Morales, Martín, & Murillo-Cabezas, 2005). The leading causes of TBI are traffic accidents, work injuries, sports injuries, and extreme violence (León-Carrión et al., 2005). TBI is most often fatal when the cause is an injury due to the use of firearms, a traffic accident, or a long fall (León-Carrión et al., 2005). However, fatality rates and rates of occurrence differ in various countries due to …show more content…

Patients who suffer from a mild TBI often require little rehabilitation and function normally over the course of a week or so (León-Carrión et al., 2005). Patients with a moderate TBI often suffer psychological and physical stressors, but they have an 80% chance of being high-functioning after a certain amount of time (León-Carrión et al., 2005). However, patients with moderate to severe TBI often suffer long-term physical and cognitive problems as a result of their injury. The disabilities that result from moderate to severe TBI differ depending on the area of injury, but they may include difficulties in speech, coordination, bilateral function, memory, complex thinking, and other areas (Murrey, 2006). Emotional and social areas are also affected by TBI due to changes in familial roles, lowered self-esteem, and hopelessness brought on by the injury (Murrey, 2006). Because of this, suicide rates in these patients are remarkably high, with 33% of patients at risk (León-Carriòn et al., 2005). Recovery in TBI patients may occur spontaneously throughout the two years following the trauma (León-Carrión et al., 2005). Beyond this point, remaining disabilities are usually permanent (León-Carrión et al., 2005). Implications for Music Therapy Because both TBI and music therapy have such broad definitions, music therapy has the capability to affect patients in several ways. In the case of a mild TBI, music therapy may not be necessary. However,

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