Traumatic brain injury is a significant health issue which affects service members and veterans during times of both peace and war. The high rate of TBI and blast-related concussion events resulting from current combat operations directly impacts the health and safety of individual service members and subsequently the level of unit readiness and troop retention. The impacts of TBI are felt within each branch of the service.
Active duty and reserve service members are at increased risk for sustaining a TBI compared to their civilian peers. This is a result of several factors, including the specific demographics of the military; in general, young men between the ages of 18 to 24 are at greatest risk for TBI. Many operational and training activities, which are routine in the military, are physically demanding and even potentially dangerous. To get an idea of how many TBIs are sustained by each branch, each year since 2000 — check out the TBI DoD Worldwide Numbers page.
If you or a service member you care for is looking for more information about TBI, check out the Patient and Family Resources page — there you will find fact sheets, caregiver guides, and other patient resources. Review them with a medical provider as you work towards recovery or help the recovery process of a service member, veteran or family member.
Recent attention has been intensively focused on combat-related TBI, it should be noted that TBI is not uncommon even in garrison and can occur during usual daily activities. Service members enjoy exciting leisure activities: They ride motorcycles, climb mountains and parachute from planes for recreation. In addition, physical training is an integral part of the active duty service member's everyday life. These activities are expected for our service members and contribute to a positive quality of life; but these activities also can increase risk for TBI.
To learn more about how to protect yourself in non-combat daily life activities, check out our A Head for the Future initiative. You'll find TBI basics information, fact sheets to help guide you in protecting your head during sports and recreational activity, and read personal TBI recovery stories.
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