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Traumatic Brain Injury Research Paper

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Traumatic Brain Injuries
Every 15 seconds an individual in the United States suffers from a traumatic brain injury. These equivalents approximately 1.5 to 2 million traumatic brain injuries every year (The Franklin Institute, 2004). Nearly 300,000 sports-related traumatic brain injuries, otherwise called TBI's, happen every year in the United States (CDC, 2013). Because of the abnormal state of contact included in games, competitors included in games, for example, football, hockey and boxing are at critical danger of TBI. Head injuries are additionally to a great degree regular in sports, for example, cycling, baseball, b-ball and skateboarding. Unfortunately, numerous games head wounds lead to lasting cerebrum harm or more terrible. Traumatic …show more content…

Farrow (2004) explains that “A traumatic brain injury is caused by a blow to the head, face, or neck area…” (p.53). It is an injury to the brain that causes an immediate change in brain function, which includes a loss of consciousness (Levy, 1993). You do not have to be knocked unconscious in order to sustain a traumatic brain injury (The Franklin Institute, 2004). The term traumatic brain injury (TBI) refers to injuries to the brain that are caused by some form of traumatic impact. A blow to the head, violent shaking or penetration of the brain tissue usually causes traumatic brain injuries. This is due to sudden, non-congenital physical damage to the brain from an external force that temporarily or permanently disrupts normal brain function. Brain characteristics and functions that can be affected include consciousness, speech and language, memory, mobility, personality and others. Depending on the cause and severity of the brain injury, brain damage can be mild, moderate or severe. In more serious cases , complications can be fatal. While the severity of traumatic brain injuries varies, the long-term affects are often devastating and life altering. Because the brain controls all bodily functions, any damage to the brain, regardless of severity, can impair physical and psychological activity (Rehberg, …show more content…

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

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