Every 15 seconds, someone in the United States suffers a traumatic brain injury. Of the 1,000,000 people treated in hospital emergency rooms each year, 50,000 die and 80,000 become permanently disabled because of traumatic brain injury (TBI). This is higher than the combined incidence of Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and multiple sclerosis.
Brain injuries occur more frequently than breast cancer or AIDS. One out of every fifty Americans is currently living with disabilities from TBI. There's even an association between head injury and Alzheimer's disease later in life.
And, you don't have to be knocked unconscious to sustain a brain injury. Mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI), also known as concussion , can damage your brain at the cellular level .
Worse, repetitive head injuries , even minor ones, can have serious repercussions including permanent brain damage or death.