Injuries to the Brain - Types of...
Written by Julie Taylor
Types of Injuries to the Brain
There are numerous ways your brain can be injured, including:
- Lack of oxygen - from anoxia (an = no oxia = oxygen) ie from emboli (a blockage) ie stroke, heart attack.
- Hemorrhage - the blood leaks/floods out and can drown brain cells (ie aneurysm, hemorrhagic stoke, traumatic injury causing a bleed, subdural hematoma).
- Increase in Intracranial Pressure
- Brain swelling (oedema) after injury
- Increase in CSF and poor drainage such as in hydrocephalus
- Growth or tumour - taking up space or invading tissue
- Focal injury - such as penetrating objects including guns and knives - this affects only a specific section of the brain.
- Coup - Contra coup - (ie during a car accident, violent head movement - your brain moves around inside your skull and may collide with the inside of your skull).
- Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI) - i.e. the axons of the brain cells (which help transmit the electrical signals) can get stretched or ripped, as a result of head trauma (ie from a MVA, fall, etc.). This is generally widespread injury - it affects the whole brain. These will show up on MRIs but not on CT scans because they are white matter (axonal) lesions.
Axonal sprouting- No new neurons are made. But existing neurons can grow new connections.
Re-routing - function that brain injury has changed now has to take a new route through the brain. This can result in slower processing.
Recovery from Brain Injury
Coma is a prolonged period of unconsciousness where your brain just focuses on the basic functions of the body such as breathing and heart function. The Brain knows that every single bit of energy needs to be focused on the injury and staying awake is too much effort. Sometimes people need to go on life support too as there isn’t even enough energy left over to perform all the automatic functions – like breathing and making the heart beat.
There are levels of coma - measured by the Glasgow Coma Scale. Generally people in a coma are not responsive. Comas can last varying amounts of time from minutes to years and be varyingly deep.
Sometimes coma is induced by medication to aid in medical treatment and recovery.
This is a detailed and inclusive book "Neurorehabilitation (Neurological Disease and Therapy) by David Good (Editor) "Assessment of the patient undergoing neurorehabilitation will vary considerably depending on the nature of the underlying 
neurological illness, the patient's deficits, and, to a certain..."
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Process of Recovery
Initially, the brain 'battons down the hatches' while it does an emergency listing of damage. Usually there is inflammation in addition to the damage described above. Often drugs are used to control the swelling that takes place in inflammation, as this can further damage the brain.
When coma or the initial trauma has passed, the dead cells resulting from the trauma are cleaned up/removed by the body.
Now recovery/rebuilding can take place...
The effectiveness of the various medications and exercises for recovery depend on the amount of damage....
Exciting New Research - new treatments are being used. It's now accepted that much more sprouting and re-routing can take place... Dr Jill Bolte-Taylor (no relation!) is a brain scientist who had a stroke. It took her years to recover - he story gives more hope than anything I've seen. CLICK HERE VIDEO to see her presentation (for FREE) or buy her inspirational and first-of-a-kind audio CD - CLICK HERE.
To read RBY article on Brain Adaptability CLICK HERE
