Acquired/Traumatic Brain Injury
MILD TRAUMATIC BRAIN INJURY / Acquired Brain Injury / Concussion
Are you having trouble focusing when you are reading or using the computer?
Have you become sensitive to light, to movement or to noise?
AND
- Were you involved in what you thought was a minor motor vehicle accident- even weeks or months ago ? (you were dazed for only a moment)
- Did you have a slip and (almost) fall accident ? –but did not hit your head?
- Were you shopping in a big box store- and an item ‘landed’ on you head?
Pain is not the only invisible symptom/problem which may occur as a result of major or minor trauma.
Other strange (but what can be referred to as ‘interesting’ ) sensations can be caused by a concussion or mild Traumatic or Acquired Brain Injury (mTBI, ABI).
Because many people think their neck trauma was ‘minor’, they may not have had any type of medical investigation.
If you answer yes, to any of these questions above, you may want to speak to your physician about the possibility that you had a minor concussion.
There is a lot of information about concussion today – including the possible associated problems related to the visual, vestibular (balance) or spatial/kinesthetic (listing to one side, missing the edges of a step or table) systems.
Having a brain injury may sound frightening- but many people do sustain some type of brain injury at the time of trauma without realizing it. You do not have to lose consciousness or be hospitalized to confirm a minor brain injury.
Because the brain is housed within the skull, it is well-protected. But even if your head does not hit against something (the floor, the dashboard in the car) at the time of trauma, the brain can get ‘shook up’ within the vault of the skull. Not all symptoms immediately return to normal.
So, if you are experiencing any ‘weird, strange’ or odd symptoms that may be related to some type of trauma- even in the distant past- let your health provider know. And use words that DESCRIBE your feelings better
PHYSICAL ache, stabbing, shooting, burning
EMOTIONAL- stressful, anxious, worried
OTHER- blurry, clumsy, off balance, nausea, light or movement sensitivity