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Concussions or TBI?

BY Christopher Mellino | 12-29-2009 | 1:43 PM
This blog is written by a member of our blogging community and expresses that member's views alone.

Is there really any difference between a concussion and traumatic brain injury?

The question of whether or not a concussion is a more benign form of
head injury as compared to traumatic brain injury is a good one. By all
reports however, concussion and traumatic brain injury are the same
thing and merely distinguished by degrees

Put another way, concussion is a milder form of traumatic brain
injury, but certainly nothing to be downplayed, as even though it may
be a mild concussion, it may still have serious consequences.

Witness any football game in the US, or anywhere else for that
matter, and one will see bone jarring hits and collisions that often
result in players being trucked off to the hospital for observation.
Blows to the head are especially problematic.

While many sportscasters and players refer to a head blow as a
concussion, most medical staff call it a traumatic brain injury. Oddly
enough, in the world of sports, a hit to the head is often regarded as
being funny and couched in terms like “the player got his bell rung.”
There is definitely nothing funny about a mild concussion or any form
of traumatic brain injury.

For those who don’t understand the term traumatic brain injury, it
occurs when the brain is smacked up against the skull resulting in
temporary neurological impairment. Other cellular processes that
routinely happen in the brain are also disrupted for days or weeks
after the initial impact, largely depending on the grade of the
concussion. Concussions range in grade from 1 to 3, and concussion and
mild traumatic brain injury are the same thing.

Grade III concussions are considered to be any loss of consciousness
due to a blow to the head or by something else like whiplash. Even with
lesser grades of concussion, they may lead to things like epidural
hematoma; the cause of film star Natasha Richardson’s death.
Richardson’s death was the impetus for school athletes to stay away
from sports for several “months” if they’ve sustained even “one” mild
traumatic brain injury.

Playing sports like football, soccer and hockey come with inherent
risks, and that risk relates to things like brain injuries.
Nonetheless, if someone has been injured as a result of a slip and fall
accident, a car crash or by playing sports without the proper safety
gear, and negligence is present in the equation, consulting an expert
personal injury attorney is a smart idea.

To learn more about Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland malpractice lawyer, Cleveland medical malpractice, Cleveland medical malpractice lawyer, visit Christophermellino.com.