Traumatic brain injury (TBI), the result of physical trauma to the brain, has been known to cause a variety of physical and mental health complications. The risk of complications increases with the severity of the brain injury. However, even mild traumatic brain injury has been recently linked to impairments that interfere with social interactions, employment, and everyday living.
Long term complications in athletes and patients who have endured multiple concussions can be severe and may include significant mental and psychological deficits as well as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). Evidence now exists that even a single moderate concussion could produce long-term consequences as a person ages.
10 Complications Associated with Traumatic Brain Injury
Traumatic brain injury can result in a wide variety of short and long term complications including physical, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral impairment. Each person’s brain is unique and tends to respond to injury differently. Complications occur in varying levels of severity, with each case exhibiting its own unique set of symptoms joined by a potential for short or long term complications:
Short-Term Complications
1. Fevers / Infections – Infections are very common after a brain injury, particularly in the lungs (pneumonia) and the bladder. Fevers typically indicate the presence of infection.
2. Blood Clots (Deep vein thrombosis – DVT) – DVT involves clots that form in the legs or arms, not the brain. These clots are very common; they occur in approximately 40 percent of patients with brain injuries. Clots must be monitored and managed to ensure they don’t travel to the brain.
3. Seizures (Epilepsy) – A risk of seizures depends on the type of injury and is more common in severe cases of traumatic brain injury. In people with a closed head injury, only about five percent will experience seizures. In those with a penetrating (open) injury, the percentage is closer to 50 percent. A seizure occurs when a part of the brain becomes active on its own. The symptoms of the seizure depend on which area of the brain is injured or affected.
4. Spasticity – This is one of the most common problems faced by people with brain injuries. Certain muscles of the body become tight or hypertonic because they cannot fully relax. For instance, the elbow can be bent almost completely, so that the hand is almost at the shoulder.
Short and/or Long Term Complications
1. Sensory
- Blurred vision
- Sound or light sensitivity
- Difficulty with balance
- Hearing loss
2. Energy / Arousal
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- Issues with loss of consciousness
- Daytime sleepiness or Insomnia
- 7. Cognitive / Mental Processing
- Shortened attention span
- Decreased memory or comprehension
- Decrease critical thinking, planning
- 8. Behavioral / Mood
- Depression or anxiety
- Impulsiveness or irritability
- Loss of energy, motivation
- 9. Chronic Pain
- Chronic headaches
- Muscle or joint pain
- Tingling or stinging from nerve dysfunction
- 10. High Blood Pressure (Hypertension) – Approximately 10 percent of TBI patients will have high blood pressure after the injury. This is usually because of damage to the part of the brain that regulates the body’s blood pressure
References:
Walton Foundation for Independence – Acute and Long-Term Symptoms of Brain Injury – https://www.wrh.org/acute_and_long-term_symptoms_of_brain_injury.cfm
RIC Life Center – https://lifecenter.ric.org/index.php?tray=content&tid=top279&cid=2163
NPR – Can Just One Concussion Change the Brain? – https://www.npr.org/2013/03/15/174409382/can-just-one-concussion-change-the-brain
