Posted: May 02, 2017

The brain is a relatively small part of our body but it is responsible for the most important function of all – it controls our body and functions. Yes, some say the heart keeps us alive but it is the brain that controls the function of all the parts of our body, including the heart. Thus, any trauma or injury to the brain can be disastrous and may result to permanent and long-term debilitating effects. There are many types of brain injury and below, is the list of the common injuries sustained from accidents.

Diffuse Axonal Injury – This injury occurs when the nerves connected to your brain gets torn from an unexpected sudden forward/backward or side to side movement of the head like in a whiplash. The sudden movement causes the brain to surge forward thus unnecessarily stretching the nerves that may then be damaged or torn. This injury can result to changed chemical process in the brain and a disruption of the normal communication between brain cells. On the outside, the person who has sustained this type of incident may show a variety of functional impairments. The impairments will depend largely on which nerves has been torn and which part of the brain it was connected to. Source Timothy J Ryan & Associates.

Concussion – Is a type of traumatic injury that may be characterized by varied symptoms and can be very complex. It happens when a direct blow or whiplash-like incident results to trauma in the brain. The trauma may result to diffuse axonal injury or it may tear small blood vessels in the brain, too. The most common symptoms of concussion are loss of consciousness and/or dazed-like feeling. There may also be some vomiting and fractures in the skull. However, concussion may still occur even without damage to the skull.

Penetrating Injury – This is a type of injury in which an object has penetrated the brain. This is a fatal type of injury but there have been some exceptions to this. Some patients have survived and thrived well even after a penetrating injury to the brain. Normally, doctors just let the object that has penetrated the brain stay where it is because removing it may cause more damage. However, some changes may occur in the person depending on where the object was stuck. In some cases, there may also be no changes at all.

Open Head Injury – This is a general term used when the brain is susceptible or even damaged due to a fractured skull. Since the skull protects the brain, an injury to the skull immediately makes the brain more susceptible to injury. In a lot of cases, the impact that damaged the skull also immediately damages the brain inside. This type of injury is very devastating and often fatal. If the victim survives the injury, the recovery time may be very long and there is also the risk of lifelong debilitating functional impairments. The damage may vary in the location and severity of the injury.

The brain is a very mysterious and complex part of our body. Despite rigorous studies performed, one can never tell for sure what the effects of a brain injury may be. If a brain injury happens, once can only pray, wait and observe for the effects.