While sports concussions are an important segment of the traumatic brain injury issue, less-publicized but equally important are those suffered by our service men and women in combat or even before. Reports from the Pentagon indicate that an average of 16 concussions were suffered each day of combat in Iraq and Afghanistan during the spring of 2011, the highest pace of any period in 10 years of combat.
The causes of brain injuries during combat are vastly different from those during athletics. Blasts from explosives have been the most common cause of combat-related concussions for our troops in Afghanistan, according to the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center. And one blast can cause more than one concussion to a person. The scope of the people affected by these injuries is not insignificant.
The number of concussions in Iraq and Afghanistan reported each year steeply rose in the last several years, from 808 in 2005 to 3,880 in 2010, according to USA Today. Much if not all of that increase is attributed to more attention given to potential concussions and improvements in battlefield diagnosis, which are good. But by the same token, the difference between the numbers could represent thousands of undiagnosed brain injuries during combat over the past decade.
It’s not only during combat that concussions are a concern, either. A startling report by National Public Radio in August 2012 revealed the preliminary results of a study of military brain injuries during training, a study which centered on Fort Hood in Texas. According to the preliminary findings, hand-to-hand combat training classes saw a concussion about every other day over a nine month period. Six percent of the soldiers in those classes said they’d been hit in the head and were suffering the symptoms that indicate head injury.
While these numbers are disturbing, measures are being taken to better protect our troops. In the last year, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veteran Affairs, the Army, and the Navy have all made extensive efforts – including funding research, working with the NFL, and screening and treating soldiers more successfully – to fight these “invisible wounds of war.”
*Scientists have no conclusive evidence as to whether or how the reduction of g forces during impacts reduces the number or degree of concussions and head injuries. GelDefenderTM products provide supplemental padding as well as cooling and comfort benefits when used with helmets and caps. Participants in activities in which head impacts can occur should always use tested and approved helmets for protection. However, no helmet or supplemental padding can protect the user from all serious head or neck injuries that can result from impacts.
