"We want to achieve for concussion what seatbelts achieved for road safety."

That's the bold claim made by industrial designer Graeme Attey at the beginning of a promotional video for Australian sportswear company GameGear. In his hands is his latest invention, a helmet specifically designed to reduce an athlete's chance of getting concussion.

Touching the lives of an average 110 people each day in Aotearoa, traumatic brain injury (TBI) is much more common than any of us would like it to be.

Yet it is often misunderstood, underestimated and too easily dismissed as someone else’s problem.

On any given night, 60,000 people in Canada will go to sleep homeless. Research estimates that more than half of them have had a brain injury at one point in their lives, most of them being injured before becoming homeless. An estimated 22.5 per cent live with moderate or severe brain injuries, a rate nearly 10 times higher than the general population.

An explosion does not need to strike the head to injure the brain. When a blast occurs, it generates a sudden pressure wave that can pass through the body and skull in milliseconds, potentially deforming brain tissue and blood vessels along the way.

For soldiers exposed to improvised explosive devices or other blasts, and civilians caught in industrial accidents or explosions in conflict zones, the neurological effects can be long-lasting – even when brain scans appear normal.

"Beloved" vividly conveys the impact of trauma, the way it impairs present and future.

Psychologist George Bonanno says we have overestimated the debilitating power of post-traumatic stress disorder and underestimated our resilience.

Today on the show we are talking about concussions and brain injuries -- from symptoms,to a diagnosis, treatments, rehab, living with a brain injury and supports.  Guests: Dr. Abayomi Ogunyemi, neurologist; Nick Mercer, Concussion Talk Podcast; Jen Smith, former vice president of the N.L. Brain Injury Association.

You might think a healthy brain starts and ends in your head – but there are miles and miles of neuron fibers that connect your brain with nearly every corner of your body. Why a healthy brain needs a healthy body.

Mikaela Shiffrin has plenty to be proud of already.

She is the winningest Alpine skier of all time with 108 World Cup victories to her name, nearly two dozen more than any other skier in history.

Those achievements are astounding on their own — especially considering that she has sustained that level of success even while facing the challenges of serious injury, PTSD and an all-consuming grief that followed the sudden death of her father in 2020.

In their day-to-day work, first responders – including police, firefighters, paramedics and lifesavers – often witness terrible things happening to other people, and may be in danger themselves.

For some people, this can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which usually involves intrusive memories and flashbacks, negative thoughts and emotions, feeling constantly on guard, and avoiding things that remind them of the trauma.

But our research – which tested a mobile app focused on building resilience with firefighters – shows PTSD isn’t inevitable. We found depression, anxiety and PTSD symptoms were less likely when firefighters used a mental health program that was self-led, specifically addressed trauma and focused on teaching practical skills.