Navy Capt. (Dr.) Scott Pyne sees March’s Brain Injury Awareness Month as an opportunity to highlight what the Traumatic Brain Injury Center of Excellence does all year long.
A traumatic brain injury (TBI) is any blow or jolt to the head that disrupts the normal function of the brain. They can have long-lasting effects. Awareness of TBIs - how to identify them, and ways to mitigate them or seek treatment if an individual thinks they may have one - is an important element of maintaining a medically ready force.
Pyne, division chief for the Silver Spring, Maryland-based TBICoE, said that what many people may not realize about TBIs within the DOD is that they occur more often at home than while deployed.
"TBI is a big issue for the military, especially in a deployed environment, but more TBI actually occurs in the non-deployed environment," Pyne said. "It's really important to be careful about TBI and know about it when you're doing average, day-to-day things like driving your car, riding your bike or motorcycle, skiing, or playing sports."
Pyne said he's seen many changes and advancements surrounding the study and understanding of TBI during his career, and this has led to better guidance for everyone.
"I think the biggest difference is in the area of concussions or mild traumatic brain injury, and this has been pushed out to our line leaders, clinicians, patients, service members, and veterans to be aware of the effects of mild traumatic brain injury," Pyne said. "In the past, concussions happened and people knew about them, but they really didn't pay them much mind."
He said that much of the advancement in understanding TBIs is due to the number of studies that have been done on them over the past several decades, as well as developments in science and technology. This has resulted in better awareness and prevention measures.
Pyne cited an example of when he was involved in sports versus his experience with his children.
"It used to be, if you were able to play through them (brain injuries or concussions), you played through them. You were encouraged to," Pyne said. "I think we now have a whole lot more awareness that there are some problems with that, and that numerous concussions may result in some long-term problems that are difficult to bounce back from. That awareness and understanding has really changed from the time that I was young until the time that I was on the sidelines coaching my own kids."
These advancements are also translating into higher recovery rates.
"The advances that we’re making in severe and penetrating and moderate traumatic brain injury are remarkable. People who would never have recovered in the past are now able to do quite well, and that's based on advances in science," Pyne said. "We always knew it was bad, but I don't think we knew how to take care of it as well as we do now."
On the combat side, Pyne said that post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and brain injuries often go hand-in-hand.
"It's very difficult to discern between the two, and I think they need to be evaluated and treated at the same time," Pyne said. "You can have PTSD without having a traumatic brain injury, and you can have a traumatic brain injury without PTSD, but sometimes they come together."
In fact, the TBICoE is studying the interaction between the two.
"We're finding that people who have an isolated traumatic brain injury do a lot better than those that have a traumatic brain injury and PTSD," Pyne said.