Sports-related traumatic brain injury
Rules exist within each sport to help prevent cerebral contusions and traumatic brain injuries. However, individual athletes are the best prevention against their own injuries. In a game, athletes notice when they have the symptoms of a cerebral contusion and should take themselves out of the game. It may be hard for medical personnel or coaches to notice when a player has a traumatic brain injury, so it is in the player’s best interest to be removed from play. In hockey, traumatic brain injuries constitute 10%-15% of all head injuries. With the high percent of injuries being traumatic, extensive design improvements have been made to helmets. These improvements reduce the risk of cerebral contusions by providing more padding around the skull and a chin strap that keeps the helmet snug. In baseball, major improvements to helmets have been made to protect batters from the impact a baseball can have when hitting their head. Helmets, before this major improvement, were designed to withstand a velocity of 70 mph from a pitch or foul ball. Since the company Rawlings’ new design, helmets can withstand a velocity of 100 mph and have further padding around the softer parts on the side of the skull.
Pediatric acquired brain injury
Pediatric acquired brain injury (PABI) is the number one cause of death and disability for children and young adults in the United States." and effects most children ages (6-10) and adolescent ages (11-17) around the world. The injury can be traumatic or non-traumatic in nature, and most patients never return to normal after suffering from the injury.There are many different symptoms such as amnesia, anhedonia, and apraxia. Currently there isn’t a cure for the injury. PABI effects the family of the patient also, because the families of the patient will need to adapt to the new changes they will experience in their child. It is recommended that the families decide to gain as much information as they can about the injury and what to expect by going to different program events and meetings.