Head Injury is the most common cause of brain damage in young people. Approximately 7500 suffer head injuries in Britain each year. It also affects older people, although brain damage can be caused by a number of factors that become increasingly common as you get older. For example, Dementia .
Most head injuries are mild, but there are still many people left with longlasting problems.
The most common cause of head injuries are traffic accidents. Young men are the group of people who are at most risk of this, and alcohol is often involved, not just through drink driving, but also in getting run over. When a person in a car is involved in a car crash, the head will usually hit something like the windscreen. Quite apart from the damage that can occur from hitting the head hard, the brain is often subjected to strong forces, and although the head itself might come to a complete stop when it hits the windscreen, the brain doesn't stop, it continues to 'bounce' around in the skull, often leading to injuries to the back of the brain when all the damage that can be seen may be at the front of the head. These are commonly called contre coup contusions.