Study finds 60 percent drop in head injury risk for those using protection
By Serena Gordon
HealthDay Reporter
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- Donning a helmet while skiing or snowboarding down the slopes can reduce your risk of head injury by 60 percent, new research suggests.
Injuries incurred during these winter sports are a common cause of hospital admission among skiers and snowboarders, and the cause of death in 8 percent of those cases, according to the study, which appears in the Feb. 22 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
"We don't usually think something can happen to us, but with skiing and snowboarding so much of the surrounding environment is out of your control. But, what you can control is wearing a helmet," said Dr. Michael Montico, associate director of Providence Hospital Athletic Medicine in Southfield, Mich.
According to the study's Norwegian authors, most ski resorts do not require helmet use, though skiers in World Cup Events must wear them. Because helmet use in these sports hasn't been well-studied, some people have argued that helmets might increase the risk of injury by reducing the visual field, or that the weight of a helmet could increase the risk of neck injury.
To test these assertions, the researchers gathered information on 3,277 skiers and snowboarders from eight different Norwegian alpine resorts who were injured during the 2002 season. They also collected information from 2,992 controls -- skiers and snowboarders who weren't injured while visiting the same resorts.
The researchers asked about injury type, helmet use, age, sex, nationality, skill level, equipment used, whether the equipment was owned or rented, and whether or not ski school had been attended.
Nearly 600 of those injured (17.6 percent) had head injuries. Most of these people -- 83 percent -- weren't wearing helmets.
Overall, the researchers found that snowboarders were much more likely -- 53 percent -- to sustain a head injury than skiers were. Other groups at risk of head injuries were beginners, males and young people.
The researchers found a consistent and significant benefit from helmet use in reducing head injuries for people of all ages. The study also found that, rather than being a factor in neck injuries, helmet use seemed to reduce the number of neck injuries.
"I believe helmet use should be promoted strongly, and ski resorts could make helmets available for free to skiers and snowboarders when they buy their lift tickets," said study co-author Dr. Roald Bahr, chairman of the department of sports medicine at the Norwegian School of Sports Sciences and the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center in Norway.
Fortunately, he said, helmet use is becoming more popular these days.
"Helmets are trendy, just look at the cool designs worn by the Olympians. At least in Norway, there is a trend that wearing a helmet is a sign that you are serious about what you are doing. It used to be that the 'cool' snowboarders were unhelmeted, now it's the other way around," Bahr said.
Montico said helmet use should probably be mandated for adolescents participating in sports where there's a chance of collision, such as skiing and snowboarding, along with inline skating and bicycling.
He said any time there's a head injury, parents should be on the lookout for concussion. Symptoms of a possible concussion include prolonged headache, memory problems, any loss of consciousness, amnesia, vision problems and possibly mood swings.
He also recommended that young athletes involved in recreational sports with the potential for head injury have pre-concussion screening done before they start participating, so that if an injury does occur doctors have a baseline reading for comparison.
SOURCES: Roald Bahr, M.D., Ph.D., professor and chairman, department of sports medicine, Norwegian School of Sports Sciences and Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center, Norway; Michael Montico, M.D., associate director, Providence Hospital Athletic Medicine, Southfield, Mich.; Feb. 22, 2006, Journal of the American Medical Association
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