What is Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. It can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue. Symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can be mild, moderate, or severe, depending on the extent of the damage to the brain. A person with a mild traumatic brain injury may remain conscious or may experience a loss of consciousness for a few seconds or minutes. Other symptoms of mild traumatic brain injury include headache, confusion, lightheadedness, dizziness, blurred vision or tired eyes, ringing in the ears, bad taste in the mouth, fatigue or lethargy, a change in sleep patterns, behavioral or mood changes, and trouble with memory, concentration, attention, or thinking. A person with a moderate or severe TBI may show these same symptoms, but may also have a headache that gets worse or does not go away, repeated vomiting or nausea, convulsions or seizures, an inability to awaken from sleep, dilation of one or both pupils of the eyes, slurred speech, weakness or numbness in the extremities, loss of coordination, and increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation. Every year, 1.7 million traumatic brain injuries occur in the U.S.

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What are the Symptoms of Traumatic Brain Injury?

Traumatic brain injury symptoms vary depending on the extent of the injury and the area of the brain affected. Some symptoms appear immediately; others may appear several days or even weeks later. A person with traumatic brain injury may or may not lose consciousness—loss of consciousness is not always a sign of severe traumatic brain injury.

Symptoms of traumatic brain injury may include

• Headache that gets worse or won’t go away
• Repeated vomiting or nausea
• Slurred speech
• Convulsions or seizures
• An inability to wake up from sleep
• Enlargement of the pupil (dark center) of one or both eyes
• Numbness or tingling of arms or legs
• Loss of coordination
• Increased confusion, restlessness, or agitation
• Loss of consciousness lasting a few minutes to hours

How is Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnosed?

To diagnose traumatic brain injury, health care providers may use one or more tests that assess a person's physical injuries, brain and nerve functioning, and level of consciousness. Some of these tests are described below.

• Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)
• Measurements for level of TBI
• Speech and language tests
• Cognition and neuropsychological tests
• Imaging tests

How is Traumatic Brain Injury Treated?

Anyone with signs of moderate or severe traumatic brain injury should receive medical attention as soon as possible. Because little can be done to reverse the initial brain damage caused by trauma, medical personnel try to stabilize an individual with traumatic brain injury and focus on preventing further injury. Primary concerns include insuring proper oxygen supply to the brain and the rest of the body, maintaining adequate blood flow, and controlling blood pressure. Imaging tests help in determining the diagnosis and prognosis of a traumatic brain injury patient. Patients with mild to moderate injuries may receive skull and neck X-rays to check for bone fractures or spinal instability. For moderate to severe cases, the imaging test is a computed tomography (CT) scan. Moderately to severely injured patients receive rehabilitation that involves individually tailored treatment programs in the areas of physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech/language therapy, physiatry (physical medicine), psychology/psychiatry, and social support.

Prognosis for Traumatic Brain Injury

Approximately half of severe traumatic brain injury patients will need surgery to remove or repair hematomas (ruptured blood vessels) or contusions (bruised brain tissue). Disabilities resulting from a traumatic brain injury depend upon the severity of the injury, the location of the injury, and the age and general health of the individual. Some common disabilities include problems with cognition (thinking, memory, and reasoning), sensory processing (sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell), communication (expression and understanding), and behavior or mental health (depression, anxiety, personality changes, aggression, acting out, and social inappropriateness). More serious head injuries may result in stupor, an unresponsive state, but one in which an individual can be aroused briefly by a strong stimulus, such as sharp pain; coma, a state in which an individual is totally unconscious, unresponsive, unaware, and unarousable; vegetative state, in which an individual is unconscious and unaware of his or her surroundings, but continues to have a sleep-wake cycle and periods of alertness; and a persistent vegetative state, in which an individual stays in a vegetative state for more than a month. Life expectancy cannot be generalized, as it’s based on such factors as age, sex, and severity of disability.

Power Wheelchair and Seating Support for Traumatic Brain Injury

For individuals living with the long-term effects of a traumatic brain injury (TBI), mobility challenges can extend far beyond walking alone. Changes in muscle control, balance, coordination, posture, endurance, tone, and cognitive processing can all affect how a person moves through and interacts with everyday life. Quantum Rehab® continues to lead the nation in complex rehab power mobility by developing highly advanced power wheelchair technologies designed to support the unique and often evolving needs associated with traumatic brain injury. Combining clinical expertise with personalized innovation, Quantum® power wheelchairs help individuals living with TBI achieve safe mobility, stable seating, and cognitive-friendly access leading to greater comfort, accessibility, independence, and participation at home and in the community.

TRU-Balance® 4 Power Positioning Systems can support TBI-related needs for posture, pressure redistribution, tone management, fatigue reduction, circulation, and safer repositioning. Power tilt, anterior tilt, recline, elevating leg rests, adjustable seat elevation, and programmable memory seating may help users maintain more consistent positioning, manage discomfort, improve functional reach, and participate more comfortably in daily routines.

Quantum Q-Logic 3 electronics can be programmed around coordination, reaction time, motor planning, strength, and cognition. Drive profiles, speed settings, specialty controls, Bluetooth®, environmental controls, and iLevel® technology can support safer, more predictable access to mobility and devices.

TBI mobility should be individualized and flexible, with the wheelchair configured around safety, function, and participation rather than diagnosis alone. With clinically sophisticated and individually configured seating technology, electronics, and mobility solutions, Quantum power wheelchairs are designed to help individuals living with traumatic brain injury navigate daily life with greater comfort, confidence, engagement, and independence.

Please click here for more information on Quantum Power Chair solutions for those living with traumatic brain injury.

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