This little TikTok by a neurologist led to quite a bit of interest:
@zenfulbrain Four Things I Would Never Let My Kids Do As A Neurologist or 🧠 doctor! #neurologist #atvlifestyle #gunskill #trampoline #americanfootball #brainhealthmatters #tbi #concussion ♬ original sound – Dr. A
Again, her four things were:
- Play American Football
- Ride ATV’s
- Have a trampoline or jump on trampolines outside
- Shoot a gun
The first three make a lot of intuitive sense because you can see the potential for head injury. The fourth thing, “shoot a gun,” seems to be more related to the chance that a person who uses a gun may be shot by a gun–not that squeezing the trigger yourself is a huge hazard for brain injury.
How does this compare to the statistics though?
According to the analysis of Araki, Yokota & Morita (2017) (see Table 1 below), falls, vehicle accidents, especially 2-wheeled vehicle accidents and contact sports are the biggest risks. This maps fairly well with what Dr. A is saying on TikTok.
Few things can exceed the ability of a brain injury’s capacity to change the life of its victim. Certainly it would make sense to be more careful to avoid such injuries. Most of us know someone who received a bad head injury as a child and has never been quite the same since it occurred.
If you suspect you or your child may have a lingering traumatic brain injury (TBI) or related injury, it’s important that you see a neurologist as soon as possible so that you can get it diagnosed and start getting the help you need.
Photo by Christopher Puma
Aaron Charlton, PhD, MBA is the marketing lead for Away Clinic, a yellow fever vaccine clinic located in Mesa and Chandler, Arizona.