Accident Head Injury and Concussions
Grappin Clinic • October 23, 2019
Accident Injury of the Brain and Concussions
A concussion is a type of mild traumatic brain injury that can happen when your head receives a hard blow.
Your brain is the most fragile organ in the body with the same texture and consistency as gelatin. The skull provides a hard protective shell around your brain.
A watery substance called cerebrospinal fluid surrounds your brain. Cerebrospinal fluid cushions your brain against impacts with the wall of your skull. During everyday head movements this cushioning effect protects the billions of nerve cells called neurons inside your brain. Neurons communicate with other neurons through electrical signals that travel down a long thread-like extension called an axon.
A hard blow to your head can cause your brain to strike the inside of your skull. During the impact your brain squeezes against the inside of your skull sending shockwaves through your brain. These shockwaves tear or stretch the axons of some neurons.
This trauma is called diffuse axonal injury or axonal shearing. The damaged axons reduce normal brain function by interrupting communication between the neurons. Depending on where your brain is injured, physical symptoms of concussion may include: headache, nausea, dizziness, poor muscle coordination, light sensitivity, vision, ringing in the ears, slurred speech, and loss of consciousness.
You may have mental and emotional symptoms including disorientation, confusion, memory loss, inability to focus and concentrate, irritability, and depression.
For a mild concussion your doctor will advise you to rest and monitor your symptoms to make sure they don't get worse. You may receive prescriptions for mild pain, medication such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen. Only take drugs recommended by your doctor as others such as alcohol may slow the healing of your brain.
Whether or not you've been to the doctor, if you experience loss of consciousness, a headache that won't go away, vomiting or slurred speech, you should seek emergency medical attention. These symptoms are danger signs for serious complications of concussion. If you think you may have been injured in a car or motorcycle accident contact Grappin Clinic to schedule a medical evaluation of your injuries and help get you on the road to recovery! Call (941) 426-9551 today!
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