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According to the Mayo Clinic, “traumatic brain injury [TBI] is usually the result of a sudden, violent blow to the head — which launches the brain on a collision course with the inside of the skull. This collision can bruise the brain, tear nerve fibers and cause bleeding.”
The severity of a traumatic brain injury can range from a mild injury to very severe. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading causes of traumatic brain injury are falls (28 percent), motor vehicle accidents (20 percent), collisions (19 percent), and assaults (11 percent). However, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center, 30 percent of soldiers are returning with traumatic brain injury. Overall, women account for 38 percent of traumatic brain injury patients.
The resulting symptoms of a traumatic brain injury can be devastating. Mild traumatic brain injury symptoms include brief unconsciousness, amnesia, headache, confusion, dizziness, sensory problems, mood changes, and memory problems. However, the symptoms of moderate or severe traumatic injury grow progressively worse: persistent headaches, vomiting and nausea, seizures, dilation of one or more pupils, weakness, loss of coordination, confusion, agitation, and lack of ability to wake up. Treatment options for traumatic brain injury include physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, neuropsychological therapy, and social support.
However, there is another aspect to traumatic brain injury in women: domestic violence. Some researchers have started to look at the prevalence of traumatic brain injury in abused women. According to the Northeast Center for Special Care, “women who are abused often suffer injury to their head, neck, and face. The high potential for women who are abused to have mild to severe traumatic brain injury is a growing concern, since the effects can cause irreversible psychological and physical harm. Women who are abused are more likely to have repeated injuries to the head. As injuries accumulate, likelihood of recovery dramatically decreases. In addition, sustaining another head trauma prior to the complete healing of the initial injury could cause further and more serious injuries and in some circumstances may be fatal.” Traumatic brain injury is a serious condition in all aspects of women's health.
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Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch received her bachelor’s of science degree in neuroscience from Trinity College in Hartford, CT in May 2009. She is the Hartford Women's Health Examiner and she writes about abuse on Suite 101.
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