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Introduction A traumatic brain injury is a “family event.” Not only has the injured person’s life been significantly affected, but also the lives of loving family members. All involved find themselves in new places far removed from their prior lives and facing certain unknowns. In search of medical understanding and answers, they obviously turn to healthcare professionals with expertise in closed-head injury diagnosis and treatment. In Texas, we are fortunate to have many outstanding physicians, psychologists, rehabilitation specialists/counselors and great facilities throughout the state. We could use more. When in need of legal guidance and solutions, the injured and their

Introduction Primary brain injuries occur at the moment of trauma and are classified into two broad categories. They are either penetrating or closed. Penetrating injuries are what they sound like. They involve a projectile of some sort (bullet, shrapnel, sharp object) that pierces the skull and directly contacts brain tissue. Closed (or closed head) injuries result from brain trauma without projectile penetration. Since it’s fairly easy to grasp how projectile primary injuries can cause brain damage, this article delves solely with the more complicated injury mechanisms at play when a primary closed head injury occurs. Closed head injuries include brain

Introduction Traumatic brain injuries are either primary or secondary. Brain injuries that occur at the moment of head trauma are considered primary injuries. Secondary brain injuries, which occur later, involve complex reactive processes set in motion by primary injuries. Secondary brain injuries include enlarging hematomas (brain bruises), brain swelling, hydrocephalus (abnormal levels of cerebral spinal fluid) and excitotoxicity (cell death from chemical reactions in the brain). These are often interrelated and overlapping processes occurring simultaneously following the initial trauma. Secondary injuries are, for the most part, responsible for the significant brain damage outcome. Enlarging Hematomas A bruise to the brain (hematoma)

Introduction Virtually all significant traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) have something in common. Symptoms are the result of both “primary injuries” and “secondary injuries,” or multiples of both. These terms broadly describe the source and classification of injuries and “injury processes” that occur in brain trauma. Primary and secondary injuries are caused or set in motion by the trauma itself. Through different means and mechanisms they both lead to brain damage. Primary injuries occur at the moment of trauma and can include brain contusions, damage to blood vessels and damage to axons and dendrites of brain neurons when stretched and torn

Introduction​ The number of children and adolescents in this country who sustain traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) is staggering.  A half  million youngsters each year are taken to emergency rooms with head injuries from falls, motor vehicle accidents, sports, and abuse.  Approximately 165,000 of these children will be hospitalized with 20,000 suffering moderate to severe symptoms. TBI is the leading cause of death in children ages 0-4 and adolescents ages 15-19.  Further, it is estimated that 145,000 adolescents ages 15-19 are living with lasting cognitive, physical, or behavior effects of traumatic brain injury (Center for Disease Control, 2015).  Why are these

Introduction Much is unknown about the cause of post-traumatic headaches (PTHA). Opinions on how brain trauma produces headaches are based substantially on theoretical conclusions drawn from what is known, and often likewise theorized, about other types of more common headaches. Similar processes are no doubt involved with the same pain pathways in play, but fundamentally, the root origins and cellular-level explanations remain for the most part a mystery. This article will highlight the characteristics of PTHA (such as they are), the pathophysiological origins of PTHA (such as are known), and the array of treatment options available through a multidisciplinary approach.