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Give Brain Injury a Voice

Bringing Attention to Brain Injury:

Photo: MRI film Have you ever hit your head as a result of a fall, a car crash, or other type of activity that left you feeling "just not right" afterwards? After a few days you returned to your normal activities, however, you kept getting a headache, were sensitive to noise, and had more trouble than usual concentrating or remembering things. Does this sound familiar? If so, you may be one of the millions of people who sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year.

This March, in recognition of Brain Injury Awareness Month, CDC and our partners are working together to spread the word and raise awareness about TBI prevention, recognition, and response to help address this important public health problem.

CDC estimates that 1.7 million Americans sustain a TBI, including concussions, each year. Of those individuals, 52,000 die, 275,000 are hospitalized, and 1.4 million are treated and released from an emergency department.

Understanding Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI):

A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or body that causes the head and brain to move quickly back and forth. This sudden movement can literally cause the brain to bounce around or twist in the skull, damaging brain cells and creating chemical changes in the brain.

Learning the Signs and Symptoms:

Most people with a TBI recover quickly and fully. But for some people, symptoms can last for days, weeks, or longer. And in severe cases, a TBI can lead to coma and even death. In general, recovery may be slower among older adults, young children, and teens. Those who have had a TBI in the past are also at risk of having another one and may find that it takes longer to recover if they have another TBI.

Symptoms of TBI usually fall into four categories:

Thinking/ Remembering	Physical	Emotional/ Mood	Sleep
Difficulty thinking clearly	Headache Fuzzy or blurry vision	Irritability	Sleeping more than usual
Feeling slowed down	Nausea or vomiting (early on) Dizziness	Sadness	Sleep less than usual
Difficulty concentrating	Sensitivity to noise or light Balance problems	More emotional	Trouble falling asleep
Difficulty remembering new information	Feeling tired, having no energy	Nervousness or anxiety

Some of these symptoms may appear right away, while others may not be noticed for days or months after the injury, or until the person starts resuming their everyday life and more demands are placed upon them.

See When to Seek Immediate Medical Attention, to learn about dangers signs to watch for in adults and children.

Getting Help:

People with a TBI need to be seen by a health care professional. If you think you or someone you know has a TBI, contact your health care professional. Your health care professional can refer you to a neurologist, neuropsychologist, neurosurgeon, or specialist in rehabilitation (such as a speech pathologist). Getting help soon after the injury by trained specialists may speed recovery.

Getting Better:

Photo: A father and son. Rest is very important after a TBI because it helps the brain to heal. Ignoring your symptoms and trying to "tough it out" often makes symptoms worse. Be patient because healing takes time. Only when your symptoms have reduced significantly, in consultation with your health care professional, should you slowly and gradually return to your daily activities, such as work or school. If your symptoms come back or you get new symptoms as you become more active, this is a sign that you are pushing yourself too hard. Stop these activities and take more time to rest and recover. As the days go by, you can expect to gradually feel better.

See Getting Better, for tips to help aid recovery from a TBI.

Reaching Out:

Several groups help people and their families deal with concussion and more serious TBIs. They provide information and put people in touch with local resources, such as support groups, rehabilitation services, and a variety of health care professionals.

See Finding Support for more information, including contacting support groups in your area.

Learn more information about TBI in the military, including an interactive website for service members, veterans, and families and caregivers.

Heads Up Film Festival – Give Brain Injury a Voice

In recognition of Brain Injury Awareness Month and CDC Injury Center's 20th anniversary, the CDC Foundation in partnership with CDC is launching the Heads Up Film Festival. Help give a voice to brain injury—a once "Silent Epidemic." We encourage you to send in videos to experience a supportive community, share your personal stories, and help create a national conversation on brain injury. Videos can be posted anytime from now through the end of March 2012.

Tell Your Story

Create a video and share your story online at the Heads Up Film Festival. See Terms and Conditions [PDF - 50KB] at the CDC Foundation's Heads Up Film Festival. Or if you'd rather share your story without video, visit CDC Heads Up Facebook page.

Improving Research:

Research and data are critical to understand traumatic brain injury as an important public health problem. CDC collects and reports TBI data to help inform prevention strategies, identify research and education priorities, and support the need for services among those living with a TBI.

See TBI statistics and who is at risk to download reports, get national and state TBI estimates, and learn about the leading causes of TBI in the United States.

Helping Spread the Word:

To help improve prevention, recognition, and response to TBI, including concussions, CDC developed the "Heads Up" educational initiatives to offer information to health care professionals, school professionals, sports coaches, parents, athletes, and others.

See "Heads Up" educational initiatives to download or order the "Heads Up" resources and to learn how you can get involved.

More Information

facebook.com/cdcheadsup
Share your stories with other brain injury survivors, family members and caregivers.
twitter.com/CDCInjury
On January 27, 2011, CDC hosted the first Live Chat on Twitter about concussion in sports with a panel of professional athletes and experts! (#CDCHeadsUp )
Traumatic Brain Injury Audio Podcasts
Learn more about TBI and concussion from these CDC Injury Center audio podcasts.
Get More Information on traumatic brain injury
Ordering Free Copies of CDC's "Heads Up" Educational Materials
- Order Form for Sports
- Order Form for Health Care Providers
- For Bulk Orders, contact CDC-INFO (include subject heading: "Concussion in Sports")
Download CDC's "Heads Up" Concussion Educational materials, including fact sheets, posters, stickers, etc…
Learn more about the Heads Up Film Festival
Learn more about the CDC Foundation
Take the quiz: Test Your Traumatic Brain Injury IQ

CDC works 24/7 saving lives and protecting people from health threats to have a more secure nation. A US federal agency, CDC helps make the healthy choice the easy choice by putting science and prevention into action. CDC works to help people live longer, healthier and more productive lives.