Prevention of concussions
Prevention of mild traumatic brain injury involves taking general measures to prevent traumatic brain injury, such as wearing seat belts and using airbags in cars. Older people are encouraged to try to prevent falls, for example by keeping floors free of clutter and wearing thin, flat, shoes with hard soles that do not interfere with balance.
Traumatic brain injury
The type, direction, intensity, and duration of forces all contribute to the characteristics and severity TBI. Forces that may contribute to TBI include angular, rotational, shear, and translational forces.
Even in the absence of an impact, significant acceleration or deceleration of the head can cause TBI; however in most cases a combination of impact and acceleration is probably to blame. Forces involving the head striking or being struck by something, termed "contact" or "impact loading", are the cause of most focal injuries, and movement of the brain within the skull, termed "noncontact" or "inertial loading", usually causes diffuse injuries. The violent shaking of an infant that causes shaken baby syndrome commonly manifests as diffuse injury. In impact loading, the force sends shock waves through the skull and brain, resulting in tissue damage. Shock waves caused by penetrating injuries can also destroy tissue along the path of a projectile, compounding the damage caused by the missile itself.