Consequences of traumatic brain injury can be very devastating provided the fact that our entire body is controlled by the brain. Even our personality can get disturbed because of this type of injury. Contrary to traumatic brain injury, other injuries do not have such consequences and once healed, the body can perform the normal actions.

Also known as TBI, traumatic brain injury does not heal like other injuries caused to other parts of the body. The recovery of traumatic brain injury is quite functional based on some mechanisms that are uncertain. It is also worth mentioning here that no two brain injuries are identical and the consequence of two similar injuries may not be the same. In some cases, the symptoms may appear right after the injury is caused while in other cases, the symptoms may not appear even after weeks of the injury.

Brain injuries do not heal like other injuries. Recovery is a functional recovery, based on mechanisms that remain uncertain. No two brain injuries are alike and the consequence of two similar injuries may be very different. Symptoms may appear right away or may not be present for days or weeks after the injury.

Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury

There are many different causes of TBI. However, the most common causes of traumatic brain injury are:

  • Car accidents
  • Falls
  • Firearms

Amongst these three causes, firearms are a fatal one. 9 out of 10 people lose their lives due to TBI caused by firearms. These three causes are not just the causes of traumatic brain injury but these can also cause spinal cord injuries which are another type of traumatic injuries. Prevention of TBI is the best way to go simply because there is no cure.

Effects of Traumatic Brain Injury

Before we move into the detail of traumatic brain injury, we should know the types or levels of TBI. TBI is classified into two categories or levels: mild and severe.

TBI is considered as mild if the loss of consciousness is shorter than 30 minutes. The effects of mild TBI include attention deficits, mood swings, headache, loss of thinking power, and frustration. On the other hand, TBI is considered as severe if the loss of consciousness is more than 30 minutes or the skull injury is longer than 24 hours. Severe TBI has more dangerous effects. Some of the effects of severe TBI are a loss of memory, limited or no function of the arms or legs, emotional problems, internal bleeding and more.

Recovery Options

As mentioned earlier, the recovery is functional recovery. Unlike most of the other cells in the body, brain cells do not regenerate rapidly. However, this does not mean that the patient cannot recover. The brain is very flexible and after some time, it can regain lost functions.

DISCLAIMER: The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.