You've been in a bad crash and the air bags have deployed or perhaps you hit your head on the side window. You may have blacked out briefly or as is often the case you aren't quite sure.
Have you had a concussion or traumatic brain injury ( T.B.I.) ? The answer is defintionally you've had both. A concussion is generally defined as a mild traumatic brain injury. Conversely all traumatic brain injuries are not concussions.
Generally speaking head trauma that produces temporary interrupting of neurologic functions is the defintion of a concussion and one does not have to lose consciousness. Physicians grade concussions based upon the nature and duration of symptoms and make treatment recommendations based upon the grading.
The severity of a brain injury is reported to be susceptible to quick assessment through observing the level of consciouness, pupillary function and lateral weakness of the extremities. This is manifestly a much more complex evaluation than can be undertaken by a layperson. Consciousness is evaluated by using the Glasgow Coma Scale. Pupil function focuses on pupil size, equality and response to bright light,
Lateralized extremity weakness is as it sounds but testing for it involves medical knowledge of how extremities perform when working properly.
The bottom line is that a constellation of post-accident symptoms can be indicative of concussion and need to be reported to a physician as soon as possible.
