Ever seen the commercials showing the NHTSA’s crash test dummies in simulated car crashes? Until we’ve personally been involved in a crash, it’s easy to dismiss the severity of potential brain injuries caused by sudden or rapid movement of the head. Those type of sudden movements can cause your brain to literally “slosh” around inside your skull since the brain is composed of soft, spongy material.
Sudden movement of the brain within the skull causes the majority of traumatic brain injury (TBI) cases. CT scans or MRIs will show hemorrhage from contusions or vascular injuries in more severe cases, but in most cases of mild TBI, no evidence of injury can be visualized. Movement of the brain inside the skull can cause disruption of the various nerve cells or neurons that make up brain tissue. Axonal shearing is an injury to the long vulnerable axon portion of the neuron. Traditional radiological studies generally do not detect axonal shearing but PET scans can in some instances. Neuropsychological testing may be required to determine specific types of impaired function that did not exist prior to the injury and isolate specific injured regions of the brain based on behavioral and cognitive dysfunction.
According to some studies, TBI can be caused by impacts with speeds as low as 2.5 mph. If you’ve seen the Crash Dummy video of just a 5 mph crash and what it does to your body, you know the potential damage your brain can sustain, as well as the easier to diagnose injuries to your back and neck. So if you are unlucky enough to be involved in a car crash which results in striking or sudden movement to your head, make sure you get adequately tested if you notice any changes in your behavior or ability to think. Otherwise, you may become a real life Crash Dummy.
Richard J. Arsenault, 2011
thats awesome! im gonna do that!