Brain Safety Starts with You
March is Brain Injury Awareness Month. Learn how you can help prevent TBIs, including concussion.
Traumatic brain injuries, also known as TBIs, affect the lives of Americans nationwide. While anyone can experience a TBI, data show that children and older adults (age 65 and older) are at greater risk. Many TBIs, including concussions, are preventable—and you can help
Change Your Mind about Brain Injury
A TBI is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or a penetrating head injury that disrupts the normal function of the brain. The severity of a TBI may range from “mild” to “severe,” and can change the way you think, act, move, and feel. In 2013, falls accounted for almost half (47 percent) of all TBI-related emergency department visits, hospitalizations, and deaths. Other common causes include being struck by or against an object (such as colliding with another person) and motor vehicle crashes. Learning what can cause brain injuries and how to avoid them is important and can protect persons from TBIs and their potentially devastating effects.
TBI in Children
This year, in support of Brain Injury Awareness Month, CDC released new information about sports- and recreation-related TBIs. A new report captured information from more than 2 million emergency department (ED) visits for sports- and recreation-related TBIs. Researchers found that activities that contributed to the highest number of these ED visits were football, bicycling, basketball, playground activities, and soccer.
You can help keep children and older adults safe from brain injury.
TBI in Older Adults
Falls are the leading cause of all TBIs, and adults aged 75 and older have the highest rates of TBI-related hospitalization and death. CDC’s Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, and Injuries, or STEADI initiative, is a toolkit designed to help healthcare providers incorporate fall risk assessment and individualized fall prevention interventions—such as strength and balance exercises and medication management—into their practices. Fall prevention brochures and resources for older adults and their caregivers are available here.
You Can Make the Difference
Every day, 153 Americans die from TBI-related injuries. Even those who survive can face lasting effects, including disability. You can make the difference in keeping your brain safe, and in keeping your children and the older adults in your life safe as well.
Get informed and talk about brain safety with others in your family and your community. Learn more about how you can help keep your family and community safe from TBI by visiting our Web pages:
