Secondary injury is a term applied to the destructive and self-propagating biological changes in cells and tissues that lead to their dysfunction or death over hours to weeks after the initial insult (the "primary injury"). In most contexts, the initial injury is usually mechanical.
What is a secondary brain injury?
Secondary brain injury is an indirect injury caused by physiological changes that are triggered by an acute CNS insult (e.g., traumatic brain injury, stroke, cerebral hypoxia secondary to cardiac arrest) and/or the management of the primary insult.Unlike primary brain injury, which refers to the direct, immediate, and potentially irreversible neuronal damage from an acute CNS insult, secondary ...
What is primary injury?
The primary injury is the structural damage to your spine, such as dislocation or fracture of a vertebral body with subsequent spinal cord compression, caused by the initial traumatic event.
What is secondary head injury?
Understanding a Secondary Brain Injury. A secondary brain injury is usually an indirect result of a primary cause of a brain injury. This type of injury occurs as a result of the processes initiated by an initial trauma to the brain.
What is a secondary spinal cord injury?
Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury's Secondary Injury Cascade The secondary injury cascade is a series of changes that begin within just a few hours after the SCI and may continue months past the initial injury. Aug 1, 2019 Michael G. Fehlings, MD, PhD, FRCSC, FACS Professor of Neurosurgery, Vice Chair Research, Department of Surgery
What is an example of a secondary injury?
Secondary injuries are injuries that lead to additional injuries. For example, an individual has a hip injury that compromises the way the individual walks and carries items, thus resulting in a strained back. The back injury would be considered a secondary injury.
What is the difference between primary and secondary injury?
Whereas primary brain injury (focal and diffuse) results from mechanical injury at the time of the trauma, secondary brain injury is caused by the physiologic responses to the initial injury.
What causes secondary injury?
Secondary injury is an indirect result of the injury. It results from processes initiated by the trauma. It occurs in the hours and days following the primary injury and plays a large role in the brain damage and death that results from TBI.
What is the most common cause of secondary brain injuries?
Secondary Injury hypo/hypertension (low/high blood pressure); cerebral edema (swelling of the brain); raised intracranial pressure (increased pressure within the skull), which can lead to herniation (parts of the brain are displaced);
Is a hematoma a secondary brain injury?
While damage results from ischemia, subsequent swelling, infection and intracranial hematoma are a secondary injury [10].
Are concussions considered TBI?
A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury—or TBI—caused by a bump, blow, or jolt to the head or by a hit to the body that causes the head and brain to move rapidly back and forth.
What are the 4 types of traumatic brain injuries?
Types of traumatic brain injuries include:Concussions. A concussion is a minor brain injury that is caused by an impact to the head, shaking, or a sudden change in movement, like whiplash. ... Brain Contusions. ... Penetrating Brain Injuries. ... Anoxic Brain Injuries.
What is a secondary injury to the spinal cord?
The secondary injury process involves swelling and hemorrhage, which leads to increased free radicals and decreased blood flow, causing even greater cell membrane dysfunction and cell death.
Which response can cause a secondary injury to the brain?
What Causes Secondary Brain Injury? The brain's natural response to the initial injury can cause a secondary brain injury. When the brain suffers an injury, it can respond with several events, including declines in cerebral blood flow, edema, hemorrhage, infection, seizure or ischemia.
What qualifies as a traumatic brain injury?
Definition. Traumatic brain injury (TBI), a form of acquired brain injury, occurs when a sudden trauma causes damage to the brain. TBI can result when the head suddenly and violently hits an object, or when an object pierces the skull and enters brain tissue.
Does emotional trauma cause brain damage?
According to recent studies, Emotional Trauma and PTSD do cause both brain and physical damage. Neuropathologists have seen overlapping effects of physical and emotional trauma upon the brain.
Can MRI show old brain injury?
MRI might show brain atrophy long after the injury, which results when injured or dead brain tissue is reabsorbed after TBI. Since injured brain tissue might not fully recover after TBI, doctors might detect TBI-related changes many years following an injury.
What are the two types of head injury?
Head injuries may be either closed or open. A closed head injury is any injury that doesn't break your skull. An open (penetrating) head injury is one in which something breaks your scalp and skull and enters your brain.
What are the two types of traumatic brain injury?
A closed brain injury is caused by a rapid forward or backward movement and shaking of the brain inside the bony skull that results in bruising and tearing of brain tissue and blood vessels. Closed brain injuries are usually caused by car accidents, falls, and increasingly, in sports.
What injury is considered a primary traumatic brain injury?
Primary brain injury refers to the sudden and profound injury to the brain that is considered to be more or less complete at the time of impact. This occurs at the time of the car accident, gunshot wound, or fall.
What are the 4 types of traumatic brain injuries?
Types of traumatic brain injuries include:Concussions. A concussion is a minor brain injury that is caused by an impact to the head, shaking, or a sudden change in movement, like whiplash. ... Brain Contusions. ... Penetrating Brain Injuries. ... Anoxic Brain Injuries.
What is secondary injury?
To cell and molecular biologists, "secondary injury" refers to a series of predominately molecular events and an increasingly restricted set of aberrant biochemical pathways and products. These biochemical and ionic changes are seen to lead to death of the initially compromised cells and "healthy" cells nearby through necrosis or apoptosis.
What is the most destructive phase of secondary injury?
In most contexts, the initial injury is usually mechanical. The more destructive phase of secondary injury is, however, more responsible for cell death and functional deficits. This subject is described and reviewed differently in the literature.
Why do secondary injuries occur?
They can also occur because of forced physical therapy, the need to use specialized equipment such as a cane or crutches, or because of the mandated use of prescription medications .
What causes secondary injuries?
Some common causes of secondary injuries are as follows: Surgery: Though surgery often helps correct major issues within the body, it can have its drawbacks. For instance, it is not uncommon for surgery to result in infection.
Can you deny workers compensation for secondary injuries?
Denying benefits for secondary injuries is unlawful and can lead to more than just a workers’ compensation claim. Moreover, it is incorrect to tell workers that they must reapply for benefits for injuries caused by the treatment or consequence of a covered injury.
Is post-injury depression real?
Depression or Anxiety: Post-injury depression or anxiety are real phenomena. Unfortunately, however, work-injury-related emotional and psychological trauma often go undiagnosed and therefore, untreated.
Can employers deny benefits for secondary injuries?
Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for employers or insurance companies to deny benefits for secondary injuries, claiming that they are in fact separate, and often telling injured workers that they “should have been more careful.”.
Can you get additional benefits if you have a secondary injury?
If you sustain a secondary injury while recovering from your original work-related injury, you may be entitled to additional benefits . Contact Barbas, Nuñez, Sanders, Butler & Hovsepian to speak with our Tampa workers’ compensation lawyers regarding what you need to do to prove the link between your initial injury and consequential injuries and how you can recover additional benefits.
What is primary and secondary brain injury?
Primary brain injury refers to the sudden and profound injury to the brain that is considered to be more or less complete at the time of impact. This happens at the time of the car accident, gunshot wound, or fall.
What is traumatic brain injury?
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) happens when a sudden, external, physical assault damages the brain. It is one of the most common causes of disability and death in adults. TBI is a broad term that describes a vast array of injuries that happen to the brain. The damage can be focal (confined to one area of the brain) or diffuse (happens in more than one area of the brain). The severity of a brain injury can range from a mild concussion to a severe injury that results in coma or even death.
What is diffuse axonal injury (DAI)?
Diffuse axonal injury is the shearing (tearing) of the brain's long connecting nerve fibers (axons) that happens when the brain is injured as it shifts and rotates inside the bony skull. DAI usually causes coma and injury to many different parts of the brain. The changes in the brain are often microscopic and may not be evident on computed tomography (CT scan) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans.
What causes a head injury?
There are many causes of head injury in children and adults. The most common injuries are from motor vehicle accidents (where the person is either riding in the car or is struck as a pedestrian), violence, falls, or as a result of shaking a child (as seen in cases of child abuse).
What causes bruising and internal damage to the brain?
When there is a direct blow to the head, the bruising of the brain and the damage to the internal tissue and blood vessels is due to a mechanism called coup-contrecoup. A bruise directly related to trauma at the site of impact is called a coup lesion (pronounced COO ). As the brain jolts backward, it can hit the skull on the opposite side and cause a bruise called a contrecoup lesion. The jarring of the brain against the sides of the skull can cause shearing (tearing) of the internal lining, tissues, and blood vessels leading to internal bleeding, bruising, or swelling of the brain.
What is the term for a brain injury that occurs when there is no break in the skull?
Brain injury may happen in one of two ways: Closed brain injury. Closed brain injuries happen when there is a nonpenetrating injury to the brain with no break in the skull.
What is a bruise on the opposite side of the skull called?
As the brain jolts backward, it can hit the skull on the opposite side and cause a bruise called a contrecoup lesion.
What is secondary service connected disability?
A secondary service-connected disability is a disability that resulted from a condition that is already service-connected. Here, veterans must provide medical evidence linking their back pain to their already service-connected condition.
Why is back pain considered a disability?
Back pain can be a particularly debilitating disability because of the way it can impact a person’s mobility. Back pain combined with another condition can then severely impact a person’s day-to-day life.
What causes pain in the spine?
Arthritis – can lead to a narrowing of the space around the spinal cord (i.e., spinal stenosis) Osteoporosis – vertebrae can develop fractures causing pain.
Can I get disability for back pain after military service?
Chronic back pain can limit your ability to work, earn a living, and even perform basic activities, such as bathing and dressing. If you can establish service connection for your back condition, you might be eligible to receive VA disability benefits. Service connection is the acknowledgment by VA that a veteran’s current health condition (i.e., back pain) is related to their military service. Importantly, there are many types of service connection, including direct and secondary service connection.
