Traumatic Brain Injury: Causes and Prevention - Fact Sheet

Between 9,000 and 11,000 Queenslanders are expected to acquire a traumatic brain injury in the coming year and that number will only increase as medical technology improves the survivability of more and more serious accidents.

Although no risk can ever be completely eliminated, the chances of such an injury can be reduced with sensible precautions. In the past decades the building and construction industry has perhaps demonstrated this best of all, with the introduction of stringent safety codes that include safety harnesses and protective headgear. Unfortunately other causes, such as motor vehicle accidents, remain depressingly common despite advances in active and passive safety features such as ABS brakes, airbags and crumple zones, and despite rigorous public education and awareness campaigns run by authorities such as Queensland Transport.

When you familiarise yourself with the leading causes of brain injuries, you realise that a few simple tips can drastically reduce your chances of becoming a statistic and help you prevent your loved ones from becoming statistics. This is particularly true if you or someone you love has recently acquired a brain injury that has resulted in impaired physical or sensory abilities, and is at risk of a second injury as a result.

Examining hospital admissions data, where inpatients to emergency wards are categorised based upon their injury, the leading causes of Acquired Brain Injury are seen to be:

Although these figures are from the USA, older Australian data agrees with the conclusions.

Here we are just going to look at the first two categories, falls and motor-vehicle accidents.

Falls

Point three is particularly relevant: The range of physical and sensory effects that a brain injury can have means that someone who has recently acquired a brain injury may be a greater risk of acquiring a second, simply by falling in a familiar environment.

The high rate of falls may be surprising. Survey data linking brain injury to disability indicates that two thirds of all traumatic brain injuries is due to motor vehicle accidents. The chief reason for this is that people are more likely to recover well from falls, where the impact upon the head is usually lower.

What can you do?

Poor lighting or throw rugs in your home can make you more liable to trip or slip. The ordinary changes that come with aging and may also occur from a brain injury, such as diminished eyesight or balance, can also make you more likely to fall. As people age a decrease in bone density also contributes to falls and the injuries that result.

Illnesses and physical conditions can Affect your strength and balance and contribute to a fall. Failure to exercise regularly can be a factor, too, because it results in poor muscle tone, decreased strength, and loss of bone mass and flexibility.

The side effects of some medicines can also cause falls. Medications for depression, sleep problems, and high blood pressure often make a person more likely to fall. Some medicines for diabetes and heart conditions can also make you unsteady on your feet. You may be more likely to fall if you are taking four or more medicines or have changed your prescription or dosage in the past two weeks.

Four ways to help prevent falls

1. Make Your Home Safer

About half of all falls happen at home. Take the following steps to make your living space more fall-proof:

Under the federal Home And Community Care Program, subsidised home modifications may be available to you in your area.

2. Begin a Regular Exercise Program

Exercise is one of the most important ways to reduce falls because it increases strength and agility, lessening the likelihood of a fall. Ask your doctor or health care worker about the best type of exercise program to meet your specific needs.

3. Review Your Medicines

As you get older or as you recover from an injury, the physical effects of some medicines–or combination of medicines–can change. Some can lead to falls by making you drowsy or light-headed. Ask your doctor to review all the medications you take, including over the- counter medicines, and see if adjustments can be made to minimize your risk of falls.

4. Check Your Vision

Poor vision can increase your chances of falling. You may be wearing the wrong glasses or have an undiagnosed eye condition that limits your vision. Have your vision checked by an eye doctor.

Motor Vehicle Accidents

Another major cause of brain injury is motor vehicle accidents. In surveys of individuals and their carers, motor vehicle accidents is reported as the major cause in brain injury in approximately two thirds of all ABI that results in a disability.

Observation surveys show that around 4 per cent of people in NSW fail to wear a seat belt whilst travelling by car. At least 13 per cent of car occupants killed in NSW were not wearing a seat belt at the time. The reason for the higher rate of non-use among those killed is because you are much more likely to be killed if you do not wear a seat belt.

While seatbelts are the primary restraint, airbags offer supplemental protection and reduce the risk of serious head injury. Seatbelts are 57% effective in preventing traumatic and fatal brain injuries and are more effective in preventing brain injury than are air bags.

Although there have been instances of airbags actually causing brain injuries in America, this is due to American airbags being of a different design to Australian airbags.

Child restraints and booster seats for children offer protection from brain injury only if they are appropriate for the age and size of the child. For more information on child restraints and booster seats please see http://users.tpg.com.au/users/mpaine/safetips.html

Motorcyclists

Motorcycle riders are especially at risk – on a per kilometre travelled basis, they are 30 times more likely to be killed on our roads! Riders younger than 40 are at even greater risk. The trend in fatalities suggests that motorcycling safety is lagging behind improvements for other road users. And compared with overseas countries, Australia’s motorcycle safety record is poor – we have nearly twice the fatality rate of other OECD countries.

Helmets are the best-evaluated way to reduce motorcycle deaths and injuries. They are 29-35 percent effective at preventing motorcycling deaths and substantially more effective against deaths from brain injury. They also significantly reduce nonfatal brain injury.

Helmets are far more effective in preventing brain injury if they fit properly and full face helmets offer significantly more protection than do open face helmets.

Bicycle riders are also at risk of brain injury and properly fitted helmets are the best protection from the almost inevitable brain injury that accompanies any serious bicycle accident.

Further information

Copyright Brain Injury Association of Queensland, Inc, Australia, 2007. This is one of a range of fact sheets made available by the Brain Injury Association of Queensland. While all care has been taken to ensure information is accurate, these fact sheets are only intended as a guide and proper medical or professional advice and information should be sought. The Association will not be held responsible for any injuries or damages that arise from following the information provided in these fact sheets. You can visit the Association’s website at www.braininjury.org.au or send emails to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it