ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Esteemed experts in the field of adult, child and sports-related brain injuries spoke at a brain injury awareness event held at the post theater March 28. The interactive discussion was led by professionals from Kirk U.S. Army Health Clinic, the Brain Injury Association of Maryland and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

KUSAHC sponsored the event in honor of March being designated as Brain Injury Awareness Month. Every year 1.7 million people in the United States, including 475,000 children, sustain a Traumatic Brain Injury and 3.1 million individuals live with life-long disability as a result of TBI.

Wendy Witmer, KUSAHC's Chief of Behavioral Health Care Services, said that brain injuries do not discriminate; they can happen to anyone, anywhere, anytime. Every 16 seconds someone in the United States suffers a TBI. Repetitive head injuries, even minor ones, can have serious repercussions, including permanent brain damage or even death. Causes of brain injuries are numerous including contact sports, falls, motor vehicle crashes and combat situations.

Dr. Carolyn Caldwell, a neuropsychologist from Northern Region Medical Command and KUSAHC, said that TBI is an invisible injury, because symptoms are not obvious to the outside observer. Physical symptoms include dizziness, sensitivity to light and occasional nausea. Emotional symptoms could include depression and irritability. Cognitive symptoms might include difficulty with concentration, memory loss and clouded thinking. Problems sleeping are also commonly reported.

Caldwell said some common causes of brain injury in the military population include falls, blasts, bullets, fragments hitting the brain and motor vehicle crashes. She said that it is not uncommon for deployed Soldiers to receive more than one mild brain injury, because they are at-risk for exposure to multiple blasts from mortars, rockets, IEDs, etc. With mild brain injuries, patients usually recover within a few months, but every case is different. It often takes longer to recover from new injuries when there have been multiple prior injuries.

"PTSD or depression can make recovery from the symptoms longer," she said. "The symptoms overlap."

Dr. Jennifer Reesman, a pediatric neuropsychologist and research scientist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, spoke about childhood concussions. She said that laws are necessary to protect student athletes who are susceptible to concussions. Unlike professional athletes, student athletes do not have teams of medical experts available to determine injuries at games.

"For every one concussion in the NFL, there are 50,000 concussions in student-athletes," Reesman said, quoting Dr. Gerry Gioia, from the Children's National Medical Center.

Reesman said that it is vital for student athletes to stop playing if concussion is suspected. If the student athlete does receive a concussion they should receive written clearance from a medical professional before returning to play.

"When in doubt, sit it out," she said. "An athlete should never return to play if symptomatic."

Dr. Stacy Suskauer, a physician in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the Johns Hopkins Hospital and a research scientist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute, added that medical studies have shown that taking fish oil supplements can also help concussion survivors by reducing symptom duration.

Outreach Coordinator Alicia Cignatta, from the Brain Injury Association of Maryland, spoke about her experience as a brain-injury survivor. She urged the audience to contact BIAM if they or a loved one think they have experienced a concussion or a TBI. She said BIAM is a free, confidential resource and that it will help patients find the services they need to recover, such as provider listings, support groups, information and other resources.

"It helped to know that I wasn't alone. I realized recovering from a TBI isn't a quick fix. Your brain needs time to recover" said Cignatta about her recovery experience. "Every recovery is different."

For more information visit www.biamd.org, call 410-448-2924, or e-mail info@biamd.org.

Neurology Nurse Practitioner Lynne Hammel, from the VA Maryland Health Care System, said that after a TBI survivor has been cleared by a health care provider, she recommends exercising for cognitive improvement, because exercise improves cerebral blood flow. She also recommends doing relaxing activities, like yoga and meditation, to combat symptoms of anger and irritability.

Attendee Brian Frymiare, from AMSAA, said the event taught him more about what can be done to prevent and treat brain injury and recovery times.

"I know several people that have incurred this and are dealing with it," he said. "I know a major who is retiring because of PTSD and other issues received while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another had a massive stroke, was in the prime of his life and a major executive in a large multinational corporation and had to retire, and now has to have 24 hour care. It's hard to see things like this and not be able to offer help. In the future I hope I will be quicker in identifying problems, help prevent them, and hopefully help those who have received brain injuries."

For more information on this topic, contact KUSAHC's Behavioral Health Services at 410-278-1715.