Biomechanics Concussions And Mild Traumatic Brain Injury

Michael Dunaway Professor Steven H. Elder ABE 4613 3 December 2014 Biomechanics of Concussions in American Football A concussion or mild traumatic brain injury(mTBI) is an acceleration/deceleration injury resulting from biomechanical forces transmitted to the cerebral tissues from impacts to the head (Broglio). Concussive sport injuries make up the majority of all brain injuries in the United States with 1.6 to 3.8 million cases every year. Every year athletes get bigger, better, faster, and stronger leading to higher collision forces and an increase in concussive injuries. The symptoms of concussions often appear quickly and resolve randomly making it difficult to be identified and diagnosed. Common symptoms of mTBI include†¦show more content†¦In order to understand the origin of concussions, one must first understand how the head is affected by contact forces. When the head strikes or is struck by an object, both contact and inertial forces are applied to head (Meaney). These forces can cause injury to the brain both in close prox imity to the impact zone or at more distant points. Focal forces are related to head injuries such as skull fractures and can cause stress waves that cause fractures at a distance from the impact zone where the skull has reduces structural properties. The primary cause of concussive injuries is large acceleration of the brain due to inertial forces. Due to how the head moves, the head undergoes both linear and rotational acceleration during impact. It has been found that linear accelerations correspond to increased pressure within the brain. This increased pressures causes neurologic dysfunction. The rotational acceleration component of impact is caused by rapid head rotations. These accelerations create shear forces in the brain . Further studies have shown that brain tissue deforms more severely in response to shear forces (Arash). Shear deformation caused by rotational acceleration is widely accepted as the primary mechanism in concussive injury. As the popularity of foo tball in America