My Life in Brain Injuries

Myth #1: “I didn’t hit my head so my brain must be fine.”

My previous posts have shown that the head needn’t hit anything in order to  injure neurons. Just the brain slamming against the inside of its own skull is sufficient to cause plenty of damage. It’s not limited to whiplash either. Landing on the butt can shake the entire central nervous system – compressing spinal cord and brain.

Clients have told me so many versions of “But I didn’t hit my head” that I started collecting them. A few of the more memorable:

• “I fell out of a second story window, but I didn’t hit my head.”
• “I was sitting at the stop light when a car going 60 crashed into my car, but I didn’t hit my head.” 
• “I’ve been thrown from at least a dozen different horses, but I’ve never hit my head.”
• “My snowboard flipped, and I slammed into a tree, but I didn’t hit my head.”
• Probably my favorite, simply for its inexplicability, “My nose has been broken twice, but I never hit my head.”

Myth #2: “Real” TBIs are rare.

In the US, a new TBI occurs every 17 seconds. Brain injuries occur more than any other disease – including breast cancer, AIDS, Parkinson’s & multiple sclerosis combined.

Myth #3: Loss of consciousness is necessary for it to be a “real” TBI.

As previously stated, there are many ways to injure the brain. Some of those injuries will lead to loss of consciousness, but the majority will not. Many people walk away, albeit a bit dazed, from incidents such as fender benders. Kids may get right back into a game after crashing headfirst into each other. It’s only recently that increased awareness re TBIs has affected how injuries are treated in most community, scholastic and professional contact sports.

A study was conducted using mice – they set up a mouse-sized apparatus that looked a little like a guillotine.  The mouse was strapped in and, instead of a blade, a tiny weight was dropped on the mouse’s head. The researchers had worked until they found a weight that caused the mouse to slightly stagger when it was released from the structure – the equivalent of asking a mouse “Who is president of the United States?” They dropped a weight on many mice & then, over a ten-day period, examined the tissue of their small intestines. Within three hours of the miniscule blow, there were cellular changes in the lining of the small intestine. By ten days, there were ulcers. This helps illustrate two things – even extremely minor TBIs have an effect and the effect(s) progresses over time.

Myth #4: If it was a real TBI, symptoms will be evident immediately.
There is generally a lag time between incident and noticeable symptoms.  Ambulatory TBI survivors rarely self-identify. Because people may be in shock, they may brush off a situation as “no big deal.” They often feel foolish or ashamed, perhaps feeling they hadn’t used their better judgment. If one is inebriated at the time of injury, it can be hard to tell the brain has been injured. Friends and family may minimize the incident, not wanting to make a scene, or ruin the party.