After getting into a crash, it is not uncommon to suffer from some form of head injury. In particular, damage to the frontal lobe is common in front and rear-end crashes.
What exactly does damage to this area look like? How do people go about handling these injuries?
What does the frontal lobe control?
As Physiopedia states, damage to the frontal lobe can take many forms. However, it typically affects the same aspects of a person’s physical and mental health due to the fact that the frontal lobe controls specific parts of the body and brain.
The frontal lobe contains things like the premotor cortex, the prefrontal cortex, the frontal eye fields and Broca’s Area. Together, these parts of the brain manage, maintain and control things like executive function, memory retention, impulse control, and the smooth and voluntary muscle movements of the body, eyes and mouth.
Impacts of damage
Thus, the impacts of damage to this area will often affect one or more of the aforementioned parts of the body or mind. Many loved ones of victims in this situation report that the victim may suddenly seem easier to agitate or more reactive. They could even lash out or have a more explosive temper.
Many victims also struggle with memory loss or trouble coding short-term into long-term memories. This can interfere with daily life tasks or even with a person’s ability to hold down a job.
On a whole, the outcome of head injuries typically looks better if the victim gets medical attention early on and throughout the healing process. Early identification can go a long way to helping a victim recover.