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MTBI Handbook
Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Survivor's Handbook is an easily understood 28-page booklet that will help you identify whether you suffer from this injury and what to do to get better. It will also help you, your family, friends, your business associates and your care providers understand exactly what you are experiencing.
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MTBI (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury):MTBI Definition: A patient with mild traumatic brain injury is a person who has had a traumatically induced physiological disruption of brain function, as manifested by at least one of the following: Any period of loss of consciousness. Any loss of memory for events immediately before or after the accident. Any alteration in mental state at the time of the accident (e.g., feeling dazed, disoriented, or confused). Focal neurological deficit's that may or may not be transient.
(This definition appears in a recent issue of the Journal of Head Trauma Rehabilitation) Even though the term to describe a brain injury is "mild", the injury itself is not mild. It can be life changing and throws lives into turmoil. When people are unable to function at pre-injury levels, medical bills continue to grow and available resources begin to dwindle. Every year thousands of people in Colorado suffer mild/moderate brain injuries. The cause may be an auto accident, sports injury or a simple fall, but the effects can be devastating. Up to 30% of the people who suffer from a mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) can have permanent damage. Symptoms of a MTBI may include: - Headaches
- Vision problems
- Sleep disturbances and extreme fatigue
- Sensitivity to light and sound
- Inability to organize thoughts and activities
- Disorientation
- Concentration and attention problems
- Slowed thinking and forgetfulness
- Language and spelling difficulty
- Loss of sense of self
 | | 1) Mild Head Injury | 2) Severe Head Injury | 3) Normal |
The above picture is showing brain activity 5 days after a brain injury. As you can see there is not much of a difference between the mild and severe head injury (#1 and #2). There is a lot of 'red and yellow' on the normal brain scan(#3), but only a little dab of yellow and green on the mild brain injury (#1). (Note: You want more red and yellow verses green/blue).
-Picture from Bergsneider et al., 2001 |
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