By: Captain Mike Colston, M.D., Director of the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury

 

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Our military community is active. Not only do the armed forces emphasize fitness, but sports are a personal passion for a lot of us, whether riding a bike or motorcycle, playing on a team or competing in extreme sports.

We’ve all heard about traumatic brain injuries (TBI) caused by blast events. But battlefield injuries aren’t the reason for most military TBIs: The most common causes are motor vehicle crashes and falls.

One of the DCoE centers, the Defense and Veterans Brain Injury Center leads the charge as we recognize Brain Injury Awareness Month every March. The theme this year is: Think Ahead: Be safe. Know the signs. Get help. DVBIC and its A Head for the Future initiative will highlight resources to help service members, veterans, military families and others prevent, recognize and recover from TBI.

You can support these efforts too:

• Get involved this month with the #ThinkAhead hashtag campaign, to encourage social media users to engage, share their experiences of recovering from traumatic brain injury and make connections to others with similar experiences and resources.


• Take personal responsibility and reduce the risk of being sidelined by a brain injury. Wear that helmet. Be aware of your environment when playing sports. New research suggests that being able to brace for head impact may reduce the severity of a concussion.


• Watch and share the latest “TBI Champion” story that highlights Marine reservist Maj. Eve Baker.

For all the information you need to get involved in #BIAmonth, visit the DVBIC Brain Injury Awareness Month page. The page includes a top 10 of TBI resources, links to promotional materials to share or display at training or educational events, and information on various ways people can get involved this month in supporting brain injury awareness through social media.