Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a disturbance of brain function resulting from a strike or jolt to the head or penetrating head

injury (Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 2012).

Common mechanisms include:

Falls Explosions (IEDs) Sports injuries

Motor vehicle accidents

More than 1.5 million people have deployed since 2001.

Research suggests that as many as 15% have sustained head injuries. One study reported some combat units returning from Iraq had 88-97% of their soldiers having sustained blast injuries (Nampiaparampil, 2008).

Headaches Lightheadedness Fatigue Concentration problems Short-term memory loss Irritability Equilibrium problems Vision disturbances Sleep trouble

Complete loss of consciousness Coma Hearing problems Visual problem Severe cognitive dysfunction

Generally the acute symptoms from a mild TBI resolve within days to a few weeks. Massive TBIs may require longer hospital times and more extensive rehab. All brain injuries no matter how small need to be evaluated by a medical professional.

Approximately 50% of TBI victims (both military and civilian) suffer from chronic pain. Sleep disturbances Depression Cognitive dysfunction, difficult concentrating Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Headaches

A progressive degenerative disorder found in persons who have been exposed to multiple concussions and traumatic brain injuries.

This head trauma activates increasing deterioration of the brain tissue, plus the build-up of a nonstandard protein called tau. Changes can begin in months or years after the last brain trauma (Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, 2012).

Memory problems Behavioral and mood changes Personality changes Parkinsonism Speech abnormalities Muscular dysfunction Dementia

The images on the left show no degenerative changes. The images in the middle and right both show degenerative changes and build-up of the tau protein.

Studies have unfortunately found that military members who have suffered traumatic brain injuries have a higher incidence of PTSD (Jaffee and Meyer, 2009).

Veterans Affairs PTSD webpage http://www.ptsd.va.gov/ The Wounded Warrior Project http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/ Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center http://www.dvbic.org/About-DVBIC.aspx Boston Universities Center for Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy http://www.bu.edu/cste/

Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (2012, April 11). Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy. Retrieved from http://www.bu.edu/cste/ Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center (2012, April 11). TBI and the Military. Retrieved from http://www.dvbic.org/TBI---TheMilitary.aspx Jaffee, M.S. & Meyer, K.S. (2009). A brief overview of traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder within the Department of Defense. The Clinical Neuropsychologist, 23(8),12911298. Nampiaparampil, D.E. (2008). Prevalence of chronic pain after traumatic brain injury. Journal of the American Medical Association, 300(6), 711-720.