Dr. Marina Usacheva's slides on protecting your head during sporting and recreational activities, youth oriented.

1. Be Smart,
Helmet Your Brain
MARINA Y. USACHEVA, M.D.
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA
STUDENT HEALTH AND
WELLNESS

2. Skiing

3. Snowboarding

4. Biking

5. Motorcycling

6. Rollerblading

7. Baseball
Softball

9. What is missing here?

10. Helmets, Helmets, Helmets

11. Why do we need helmets?

14. Injuries do happen
 Damage to the brain can affect
EVERYTHING
you do, from thinking to moving
 It can lead to coma and death

15. The Brain …
What is it and what does it do?

19. What does the brain do?
When you're thinking hard, you're using your brain
You need the brain
 To solve math problems
 To figure out a video game
 Play instruments
 Draw a picture
 Read a book

20. Cerebrum (Brain)
Hemispheres
Left hemisphere
 Reasoning skills
 Speaking
 Writing
 Number skills
 Movement of the right side
of the body
Right hemisphere






Creative skills
Imagination
The left side of the body
Insight
Musical ability and
interpretation
Awareness of three
dimensions

21. The Brain
Lobes
Frontal lobe
 Main movement of
extremities, trunk and
eyes
 Memory
 Judgment
 Behavior control
Parietal Lobe
 Sense of space
 Sensation
 Other movements

22. The Brain
Lobes



Temporal Lobe
Language
Plays an important role
in emotions
Assists with memory

Cerebellum
Coordination
Timing

Occipital lobe
Vision


23. The Brain
Brain stem



Breathing
Blood pressure
Arousal
Did you know
that

Human brain weighs
~ 3 pounds ( 1.4 kg)

24. Brain Anatomy

26. Neurons = Nerve Cells
Neurons have
Cell body
Dendrites
Axons
Neurons carry messages

27. Did you know that…



Human brain is made up
of over 10 billion
neurons
The neurons are
surrounded by the glia
(from the Greek “glue”)
Some neurons are over
a meter long

29. The brain has many
different parts that
work together

Cerebrum

Cerebellum

Brain stem

Hypothalamus

Hippocampus

Pituitary gland

30. Brain development and function

When you learn things, the
messages travel from one
neuron to another, over and
over

Eventually, the brain starts to
create connections (pathways)
between the neurons, so
things become easier and you
can do them better and better
Informative
routs.
Sensory and
motor
signals

31. Neurons
When you were born, your
brain came with all the
neurons it will ever have,
but many of them were not
connected to each other

32. Head and Brain Anatomy
Your brain sits inside a
hard, bony skull

33. Head and Brain Anatomy
Layers of
membranes
n Dura mater
n Pia mater
n Arachnoid
Fluid around the
brain provide
additional padding

34. Head and brain Anatomy
Layers of membranes
Dura mater
Pia mater
Arachnoid
Fluid around the brain
provides additional
padding

35. Brain injuries

36. Skull fracture



Skull fracture= Crack
If the sharp edges of a
fractured skull bone press
into the brain, they can
damage the delicate tissues
and lead to bleeding in the
brain
One sign of a skull fracture
is clear fluid or blood
draining from the nose or
ears

38. Traumatic brain injury (TBI)


Mild
A concussion
Quick recovery (usually)
Moderate

39. Severe TBI



Can do enough damage
to knock you
unconscious for a longer
period of time
A hard blow to the head
can shake the brain
inside the skull, resulting
in bruising, broken
blood vessels, or nerve
damage
It can even lead to a
coma or death

40. Healing after concussion





Rest! Rest! Rest!
Just like you need to rest your ankle after a sprain,
you need to rest your brain after a concussion.
Get plenty of sleep to give your brain time to heal.
Stay off the playing field until your doctor gives you
the OK.
Getting a second concussion before the first one has
healed can slow your recovery and increase the risk
for permanent brain damage

41. Diagnosing TBIs
“Invisible injury”
 Coaches, athletic trainers or parents can do initial
assessment
 However, the people most qualified to diagnose a brain
injury are emergency room doctors, pediatricians, family
physicians, neurologists and neuropsychologist

44. How Common Are Brain Injuries?



Every year, 1.7 million people have an accident that
leads to a traumatic brain injury
Most injuries (~ 75% ) are mild, including
concussions
But more serious brain injuries send 275,000 people
to the hospital and cause 52,000 deaths every year

45. Helmets and
Why Do We Need Them?



A type of protective headgear
Helmets are made to protect and cushion your brain
from the crash
Helmets prevent traumatic brain injury (TBI), disability,
and death

46. Do Ski Helmets Help Prevent Head Injury?
The Brave Ski Mom (October 15, 2012, CO)
Yes
Research conducted over the past
20 years shows that children under
age 15 are more likely to suffer a
head injury while skiing or
snowboarding than any other age
group.
For kids in this group, a helmet can
prevent or reduce the severity of
the injury by 53%.

48. Yes
No

49. Barriers to helmet use






Peer pressure
Cost
Inconvenience
Poor fit and discomfort
Damage to personal appearance
Lack of knowledge about consequences of TBI

50. Remember


Any helmet is better than no helmet at all
Brain injuries do not discriminate and might happen
to Anyone
Anywhere
Anytime

51. SAFETY

54. Be Smart,
Helmet Your Brain

55. Quick Review

http://ww.braininjury101.org/

http://kidshealth.org/kid/quizzes/NSquiz.html#
cat20913

56. References



http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/
http://www.biausa.org/
http://www.brainline.org/landing_pages/categories/abouttbi.html