Tramatic Brain Injury
Traumatic Brain Injury [TBI}, also known as Head Injury and Acquired Brain Injury [ABI], is defined as injury to the brain which occurred as a result of trauma, and is non-progressive.
It occurs when an external force impacts the brain, & often is caused by a blow, bump, jolt or penetrating wound to the head. However, not all blows or jolts to the head cause TBI: some just cause bony damage to the skull but do not cause brain injury.
The 2 most common causes of TBI are:
- Falls
- Road Traffic Accident [RTA]
This includes vehicle collisions, pedestrians being hit by a vehicle, vehicle-cyclist and car-motorcyclist collisions as well as bicycle and motorbike crashes which do not involve another vehicle.
Until recently, RTA was the primary cause of brain injury, but an international study published in 2013 reported that “falls have now surpassed road traffic incidents as the leading cause of this injury