News & Headlines

The holiday season is a busy time and can be overwhelming even when you are not managing a traumatic brain injury (TBI) or other debilitating illness. During the first year of my recovery from my TBI, I absolutely dreaded the holidays. Here are some tips for easing your way through the holidays with a TBI:

The Defense Department has a mandate to look into the consequences of troops’ exposure to blasts from shoulder-fired weapons, after a 2018 study suggested that repeated impact can cause traumatic brain injuries, and all of the consequences that go along with them.

Growing up, Matthew Benedict played football in the fall, hockey in the winter, and lacrosse in the spring. In the summer, he and his brother and their buddies would head to Toronto for weekend hockey tournaments. Each of those sports meant he took hard hits to the head for years. At the age of 26, he took his own life. His story illustrates the challenges parents face as they decide whether to let their sons and daughters play contact sports, as well as deciphering conflicting messages from scientists and sports leagues about head trauma.

Recently I was accidentally whacked in the head with a frisbee at the dog park. Now this may sound funny, and it most likely looked funny to those who saw it from a distance. But for someone recovering from a traumatic brain injury, it was not funny at all.

Haunted by a violent past, the territory has one of the highest suicide rates in the world.

Suicides surpassed car crashes as the top cause of TBI-related deaths in recent years, a new study shows.

Who is more likely to suffer a concussion playing high school sports, a female soccer player or a male football player? A new study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that girls who play high school soccer are at nearly the same risk for traumatic brain injuries as boys who play high school football.  In fact, concussion rates were higher among girls than boys in every high school sport. Despite the indisputable statistics, controversy still surrounds the exact reasons that girls suffer more concussions than boys.

The life of a top professional athlete involves hard training, plenty of stress, career-threatening injuries and no shortage of money. But now, some high-profile figures -- think Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck and Wales rugby union captain Sam Warburton -- have decided at a relatively early age that the glory and the lucre no longer outweigh the pain. The issue of long-lasting injuries, particularly concussion and its ramifications, looms ever larger for anyone looking to take up a contact sport, either as an amateur or a pro. It’s a growing concern for high schools and parents, not to mention the sports leagues that are facing legal suits.

T.J. Abraham’s career ended when his brain began to fail. His doctors blame football, and he is pushing for change.