Memory Salad: Part of a Balanced Head Injury Diet

This article takes an in-depth look at concussions. It explores the medical and emotional experiences those with concussions may experience, addresses the recovery process, and provides information to help overcome the lasting effects from a traumatic brain injury. It intertwines personal anecdotes with scientific research in order to facilitate discussions about head injuries that bring science and personal experience together. Hazel K. Memory salad: part of a balanced head injury diet. BU Well. 2017;2:7-10. ow often have you misplaced your car keys or forgotten if you left the lights on after leaving for work? How often do you arrive at your destination and not recall anything about the commute? For me and the 1.7 million Americans who sustained a head injury this past year, forgetfulness is part of our daily routine. The phenomenon of remembering select things without knowing many explicit details is what I like to refer to as “memory salad. ” Memory salad is when you know something for certain but cannot recall exact details relating to it. For example, I tie my shoes every day, but I cannot pinpoint the last time I did it. Another way to understand this is to think about a time you had trouble remembering what was said in a conversation earlier in the day. For those of us experiencing life after a traumatic brain injury, memory salad is an all too common reality. Traumatic brain injuries, commonly known as concussions, are responsible for over 280,000 hospitalizations and over 50,000 deaths annually. Additionally, concussions are one of the leading causes for long-term disabilities in individuals under the age of 45. Living with the symptoms and consequences of a head injury can be challenging and cause additional stress. Much like a salad, life events following a concussion can seem mixed up or tossed around. Concussions are injuries within the brain that can lead to deficits in memory, emotions, and other cognitive behaviors. However, there are ways to retrain the brain and fully recover from a traumatic brain injury. So, let’s take a stroll down head injury lane. MY FIRST CONCUSSION, OR TWO, OR THREE An overwhelming number of athletes can relate to the story of my first concussion. During a high school soccer game I attempted to block a hard kick with my face. My sports-related concussion was one of the 1.6 to 3.0 million sports-related injuries reported each year. 5 In fact, head and neck injuries account for roughly 8% of all injuries in youth soccer, and 2% of them are concussions. These statistics may even be higher since over 50% go unreported; student athletes are either unaware of their symptoms or do not want to be removed from competition. It is important to note that not all head injuries result in a concussion, and that not all concussions are caused by sports injuries. Head injuries can be caused by a number of non-sports related circumstances in which the head or neck are struck, such as automobile accidents, explosions, falls, assault, workplace accidents, or even just bad luck. For example, my third concussion occurred when I was reaching for something on a high shelf in our garage and a crowbar fell, landing on my forehead. In total, I’ve suffered five concussions, three of which happened consecutively in one month. Formally, a concussion is defined as “a complex pathophysiological process affecting the brain. caused by either a direct blow to the head, face, or neck or via excessive force elsewhere on the body and transmitted to the head. ” Simplified, a concussion is an injury in which your brain rattled inside the skull and potentially became bruised or seriously injured. On average, men are twice as likely to receive a mild traumatic brain injury than women and 15-24 year-olds having the highest risk of any age group. While concussions are often seen as “just a bonk on the head,” they are much more than that. They go deeper and impact the function of one of the most critical organs in your body. THE BRAIN, THE BRAIN, THE CENTER OF THE CHAIN The brain is a complex organ with multiple folds, crevasses, and functions. It is the driving force behind everything that is you. Everything you think, feel, remember, do, and say begins in the brain. Each area within the brain has its own specific function from memory and language to movement and coordination. When the brain is injured, these functions can become compromised, and these adverse effects can last well into late adulthood. In fact, 15% of people with head injuries report that they still suffer from symptoms past the typical recovery time frame of 1 to 3 months. Approximately 2-6% do not recover from their head injury in the first year and are said to suffer from what is known as persistent post-concussive syndrome (PCS). Injuries to your brain can drastically impact your life in a negative way. After being injured, your brain may have trouble with executive functions such as achieving goals, problemsolving, behavior skills, and purposefulness. Your brain may also have trouble with motor control, resulting in poor posture and imbalance. Each individual head injury has a unique impact H