Traumatic Brain Injuries in Females
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) occurs from a strike, jerk, or penetrating object interrupting normal brain functioning. Causes include slip and falls, motor vehicle collisions, sports-related blows, and penetrating injuries. The CDC estimates there will be 1.7 million TBI’s this year. These may be mild (concussion), serious (long-term complications) or anywhere between.
The most common TBI is the concussion. It happens when the head, or body, rapidly shifts backwards and forward, as seen during a motor vehicle collision or sports injury. Concussions are referred to as mild TBI, because they are usually not life-threatening. Nevertheless, these mild TBI’s can cause serious problems. Research proposes that frequent concussions are particularly dangerous.
Concussions in football players, high school to professional, have gotten a lot of attention in the media lately. One 2015 study found that concussion diagnoses more than doubled between 2007 and 2014, most notably in children and teenagers. It is not known if this is because of an increased awareness about concussions, or if there were more young people receiving injuries.
The researchers tracked over 1,200 athletes from Columbia University between 2000 and 2014.This study included over 800 male, and almost 400 female athletes playing sports believed to present a higher risk of concussions. For males, sports initially included just football but then added wrestling, basketball and soccer. For females, the sports included field hockey, soccer, basketball, softball and lacrosse.
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