Causes of Traumatic Brain Injury
Understanding the Different Types of Head Injuries
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) occurs when an unexpected trauma causes damage to the brain, not including a degenerative or congenital brain injury. TBI can be life changing and can change an individual’s personality, cognition, physical abilities and internal functions.
The brain is enclosed inside the skull. The skull is the brains protective shield. The brain is made of nerve cells that make tracts that route through the brain. These tracts carry messages to different parts of the brain to perform various functions. For example, when you want to raise your arm, these tracts send a message to the part of your brain that controls your ability to move. If the tracts were damaged, the brain would not receive the message and the individual may not be able to raise their arm.
There are a variety of causes for Traumatic Brain Injury. The most common types of TBI are open head injury, closed head injury, deceleration injuries, metabolic disorders, lack of oxygen, infections and stroke:
- Open Head Injury - An open head injury occurs when an outside force penetrates the skull and directly damages the brain. Bullet wounds are the most common type of open head injury.
- Closed head Injury - A closed head injury occurs when the head hits an object hard enough to damage the brain without penetrating the skull. The most common types of closed head injuries are motor vehicle crashes and falls.
- Deceleration Injuries - Deceleration injuries occur when rapid acceleration and deceleration of the head can force the brain to move back and forth inside the skull. This type of injury is seen in shaken baby syndrome.
- Metabolic Disorders - Metabolic TBI occurs when harmful toxins or chemicals damage the nerve cells in the brain. This type of TBI is seen in lead poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning.
- Lack of Oxygen - This type of TBI can occur from anoxia (no oxygen) or hypoxia (reduced oxygen) to the brain. This condition can be caused by heart attacks or respiratory distress.
- Infections - Viruses and bacteria can cause life-threatening conditions of the brain. The two most common types of infections are encephalitis and meningitis.
- Stroke - A stroke can leave an individual with severe physical and cognitive deficits. A stroke can cause the brain to be deprived of oxygen, nerve cell death will occur in the area of the brain with no blood flow.
- Tumors - Tumors can grow on and over the brain invading the spaces of the brain causing damage.
Unfortunately our brains do not regenerate new tissue or new nerve cells. Individuals with TBI must learn to rewire the current unaffected nerve cells to relearn functional activities. This is done by intensive speech, occupational and physical therapy.
