Between 1.1 million and 1.9 million children and teens get a concussion every year. The old rules on what children should or should not do after suffering a concussion have been revised, making it easier for kids to recover both physically and mentally, according to NBC-affiliate WNDU News in South Bend, Indiana.
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The new rules don’t propose that kids go back to normal activity right away, but they do say that light exercise such as a 20-minute brisk walk can be beneficial. While they may be able to return to school sooner, limiting academic studies may be necessary, the report said.
An estimated 80 to 90% of people have had some form of concussion or traumatic brain injury (TBI). Military personnel, football players, soccer players and boxers tend to be at particularly high risk, but TBI can happen to anyone, young or old, for a range of reasons.
Telltale signs of TBI include poor concentration, mood changes, irritability, changes in your ability to focus and follow through on mental tasks, poor word recall, foggy thinking and sleep problems.
An estimated 4 million to 6 million people are on disability due to chronic severe conditions resulting from a TBI, but many more have undocumented TBIs, be it from a car accident, slip and fall incident or simply hitting their head on a cabinet.
A low-grade accumulation of concussions over time accelerates the process of dementia, raising your risk for neurological dysfunction and disease later in life.
Along with children, the elderly also need extra care and attention when it comes to TBIs.
Among U.S. adults aged 75 and older, 1 in 45 suffered from a brain injury that led to an emergency room visit, hospitalization or death in 2013 — a 76% increase from 2007 — with the primary cause being falls.
Falls are a leading cause of injury among senior citizens in America, with 1 in 5 leading to a serious injury such as a broken bone or head injury. More than 1 in 4 older Americans falls every year, and such falls are the most common cause of TBIs among the elderly.
According to some estimates, as many as 90% of the population have experienced some form of TBI. The accumulation of mild head trauma over time has been shown to raise your risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease, with research showing that even a single concussion could increase your risk for Parkinson’s by 56% to 83%, depending on the severity of the injury.
Those with one or more TBIs in their past also received a diagnosis of Parkinson’s on average two years earlier compared to those who had never had a TBI.
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that affects a region of your brain that is responsible for normal movement. Symptoms, which typically progress over time, include tremors, slow movement, rigid limbs, stooped posture, an inability to move, reduced facial expressions and a shuffling gait. The condition can also cause depression, dementia, speech impairments, personality changes and sexual difficulties.
Treatment for TBIs include floatation therapy, hyperbaric oxygen therapy, photobiomodulation, pulsed electromagnetic field therapy, transcranial direct current stimulation, neurofeedback and CBD oil.