“A steaming bathtub and a group of bathers will make their way down Nicollet Mall Tuesday for the launch of a Hennepin County Medical Center campaign to prevent traumatic brain injury.

The rolling shower scene is meant to draw attention to the number one cause of traumatic brain injury: falls. The tub will travel…accompanied by campaign workers in bathrobes and slippers.”

This news item in the downtownjournal caught our attention. What a great way to bring awareness to an important topic! It’s easy to imagine the number of people who will notice this spectacle - people who may never have given traumatic brain injury (TBI) a second thought.

I think this highlights the importance of creativity when trying to create public awareness of TBI and spinal cord injuries (SCI). There is so much information thrown at us these days that its hard to sift through it and still hear the important messages. Perhaps we need to think of more ways to create “rolling shower scene” type scenarios… just a thought!

Due to the U.S.’s continued military presence in Iraq, we have seen a lot of attention paid to the increasing numbers of soldiers returning with head injuries from bomb blasts. These injuries are often hard to detect and too many times go unreported.

Luckily, both for the soldiers and for civilians who have sustained brain injuries, there has been a correlating increase in research into preventing and curing traumatic brain injuries (TBI).

The latest study that has caught our attention is focused on the use of crystals to detect and report a TBI. Shu Yang, one of the researchers who developed the device, says that the amount of damage sustained from an impact such as a soldier would get from an explosion, can be registered by crystals.

The crystal structure changes depending on the level of shock it experiences, changing its color. Scientists are working on developing a method that will allow doctors to translate a particular color into a level of neurological damage.

According to a NewScientist article, the blast waves from large roadside bombs “stretch and shear the brain, damaging the long nerve cells connecting the different regions of the brain”. The damage can only be detected with a specialized MRI scan, until now. With these crystal stickers, the hope is that the degree of damage will be apparent with a quick visual check, allowing the necessary level of care to be ascertained immediately.

When attached to a uniform or helmet in the form of a think sticker strip, these crystals can potentially be incredibly useful on the battlefield, helping to bring more of our soldiers home after receiving proper and beneficial TBI care.

As summer sports season starts to wane and fall rests on the horizon, we’d like to remind everyone of the need to deck kids out in the proper safety equipment for their sport.

According to the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, an estimated 4.4 million kids between the ages of five and 18 are treated in emergency rooms each year for sports related injuries. The use of some simple protective gear will go a long way to help minimize harmful effects.

Helmets help to prevent concussions which can be caused by a blow or jolt to the head in sports such as football, baseball and softball. Children are resilient, and often will be up and running around shortly after an injury, so it’s important to check them for signs of dizziness, feelings of being faint or lapses in memory. All of these symptoms are indicators of a potential concussion.

Dr. Divine, the director for the center, stressed in a recent Medical News Today article the need for “coaches, trainers and parents to be observant of head injury symptoms because athletes may not report them…of utmost importance, athletes younger than 18 who have any post-blow-to-the-head symptoms affecting their thought process should not return to the same practice, game or contest and be evaluated by a physician prior to return to play.”

How far will $1.7 million go when applied towards research on traumatic brain injuries (TBI)? Far enough to help progress ground breaking research in the areas of neuropsychology, rehabilitation psychology and physical medicine and rehabilitation at the Southeastern Michigan Traumatic Brain Injury System (SEMTBIS).

The DMC Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan and the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Wayne State University was awarded a 5-year grant totaling $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR).

SEMTBIS will be able to apply this funding towards cutting-edge research focused on the clinical care of patients with TBI. Specifically, they are concentrating on “Full Access to Community Life”, a project that looks at priority areas such as employment of people with disabilities and the community integration of TBI survivors and their family members.

For more information on SEMTBIS, visit their Website.

Bicycle helmet studies - how seriously can you take them? We are aware that there are contradictory studies that benefit both those for and those against the use of helmets, and each one states that its conclusions are the right ones. Knowing of these biases, how can you determine whether wearing a helmet will benefit you or not?

Ignoring case-control studies, where those with head injuries are compared to cyclists without, and anecdotal evidence, we are left with the actual hard research regarding a helmet’s ability to protect your head in a crash.

Helmets are designed to handle crash energy - when your helmet sustains an impact, the foam crushes decreasing the energy and extending the time in which your head stops moving forward. This reduces the impact force to your brain. A good helmet won’t shatter or break, and a great one will be made with foam that can stiffen or yield depending on the degree of impact.

The goal is for the foam to be thick enough that it won’t bottom out on impact, but not so thick that it contributes to neck strain. The rounded shape isn’t just to fit to your head, its to help reduce impact even more by easily skidding when it comes into contact with the pavement.

Helmet safety standards have been created to make sure that your helmet can be used as the manufacturer intends. The American Society for Testing Materials (ASTM) is the most commonly referred to standards organization today and publishes on a variety of sport helmets. They have impact tests, strap tests, coverage requirements, as well as performance standards for different temperatures and weather conditions. Check out the Snell Memorial Foundation site for detailed bicycle helmet standards or the US CPSC.

These standards include most of the following tests. Impact testing drops a headform wearing a helmet onto an anvil…the anvil will be in a variety of shapes, each one fit the particular test. The amount of shock that the headform sustains is measured and these measurements determine how well the helmet protected it. Some impact tests drop weights onto the helmet or an attempt is made to penetrate the helmet with a sharp, heavy object.

These same tests, among others, are carried out when the helmet is wet, hot, cold, dry, etc. The strap is tested as well, by being yanked either by a machine or by the attachment of a weight. This is done to measure how much it stretches or if it breaks.

Now, short of donning a helmet and riding your bike into a deliberate crash scenario, you will have to take this research along with the countless studies both advocating for and against helmet use and make up your own mind.

Helmets have been created to lower your risk of brain damage, not prevent it, not guarantee a complete recovery after a crash. They can help you to enjoy your time riding, knowing that in addition to taking careful stock of your surroundings and using safe riding habits, you are doing everything in your power to help prevent a traumatic brain injury.

It is of course, your choice.

This week’s resource is the Northeast Center for Special Care’s Brain Injury Conference, Symposium and Event Listing page.

If you are interested in knowing what brain injury related workshops, conferences and meetings are available near you, or what topics are being explored right now, then this page will be a great resource. They have listings that cover the entire year and span the whole world.

You can also sign up for updates and reminders if you want to easily keep on top of things. To check out this resource, click here.

Q: Since my brain injury, I have memory loss and difficulty concentrating. Is there anything I can do to improve this?

A: There was a time when doctors assumed that the brain, once damaged, couldn’t regain any of it’s previous functions, but thankfully we have progressed beyond that limited evaluation.

We now know that there are things we can do to improve brain functioning after a traumatic brain injury (TBI). In addition to the rehabilitation that the doctor will recommend after an injury, there are a variety of exercises that you can do on your own that will help to boost brain power.

Some researchers claim that music incites increased brain function by creating connections between the right and left brain hemisphere. The interplay that allows you to learn music utilizes both your creativity and your reasoning, strengthening cognitive capacities and developing better organization skills. By learning a new musical skill, you potentially improve your mind’s flexibility.

Others stress the importance of physical exercise, especially aerobic activities. While this area still needs more study in order to clarify what specific processes are happening to cause improved memory and general mental function, there have been a handful of seemingly conclusive tests creating a definite link between the two. Some speculate that it’s the increased blood flow bringing oxygen to the brain that promotes these beneficial effects. This doesn’t mean that you need to run for hours a day. Find an activity that you enjoy, be it running or biking, hiking or swimming, and try to increase the time spent doing it.

Besides learning a new musical skill or upping your aerobic activity, you can also practice brain exercises that will help you to increase your capacity to process information with speed and efficiency. There are a wide assortment of books and Websites that not only detail different activities, but walk you through them. Here are a few to get you started:

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Workbook for Cognitive Skills

The Brain Injury Workbook

Whichever steps you decide to take to improve and even regain your cognitive capabilities, keep in mind that scientists are just starting to discover the brain’s recuperative abilities. Don’t give up hope!

This week’s highlighted resource is the Disability Claims - Information & Resources Website. They include a staggering amount of links to everything claims related.

If you need information on Social Security Disability, Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income benefits and their requirements, this site will provide you with the answers. There is a high cost associated with brain injuries, and it’s important to understand exactly what you can do to meet it.

There are a myriad of details that need to be considered along with various restrictions on which programs you can apply for - and knowing before you begin what can be a grueling process, will save a good deal of time!

Some Important TBI Incidence Statistics:

• TBI occurrence is strongest in the following age groups: Five years and younger, between 15 and 24 years and over 70 years old.
• The death rate is 30 per 100,000, with 50 percent of those dying within the first two hours after their injury.
• It is estimated that 50,000 people die every year in the U.S. from TBI.
• Lasting problems from TBI are estimated to affect 70,000 people.
• Three quarters of those injured are male.
• Thirty percent had a history of alcohol abuse.
• The majority of injuries were received in motor vehicle crashes, some 50 to 70 percent.

Statistics thanks to the Centre for Neuro Skills.

According to an article by Carlos Mayorga in the The Salt Lake Tribune, a new fund has been created for Utah residents who have suffered a traumatic brain injury. This financial assistance is intended to be used in the training of medical personnel and for medical expenses that programs such as Medicaid don’t cover.

According to Mayorga, more than 2,500 new brain injuries are sustained every year in Utah. With this short-term funding, those who have been unable to receive proper treatment stand a better chance. So far there have been private contributions to the fund, so the hope is that after the initial one-time government contribution of $50,000 runs out, either the government will provide more or they will continue to receive donations.

Hopefully more progressive policies will come out of Utah’s move towards supporting the often ignore TBI population.