It’s a simple habit: WEAR A HELMET
By J. Charles Mace, MD, FAANS, FACS, CoxHealth Department of Neurosurgery, Greater Springfield LIVING WELL Magazine
It’s the time of year for outdoor activities. During summer, kids and adults of all ages enjoy bicycling, skateboarding, horseback riding and waterskiing. Many injuries suffered during these activities are preventable. Nothing beats safety and proper preparation for these activities, and one simple measure can prevent a severe head injury or even death: wearing a helmet.
Bicycle helmets are available at most bike shops and sporting goods stores where bikes are sold. Prices can range from $4 to more than $200. Always choose a helmet that meets the safety standards of Snell, ANSI (American National Standards Institute) or ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials). The routine of wearing a helmet should start at a young age, even with tricycle riders. Set an example for the kids in your life by wearing a helmet every time you ride. And grandparents, if you give the gift of a bike to a child you love, always include a helmet. Brightly colored models with decorations are appealing to young children, so make it fun!
Riding without a helmet can have devastating consequences. A fall from a bicycle, even when the bike is not in motion, can cause the head to strike on concrete or asphalt – resulting in severe or even fatal head injury. A bicycle accident doesn’t have to involve speed or contact with a car to be serious, and most bicycle crashes occur within blocks of the home.
Proper adjustment and fitting of a bike helmet makes it more comfortable to wear and allows it to function correctly. It’s OK if it takes some getting used to, but remember that a proper fitting helmet does not hinder a rider’s vision or neck mobility.
Safe skateboarding also means wearing a helmet. Skateboarding-specific helmets are similar in design and cost to bicycle helmets. As with bicycle crashes, most skateboard accidents occur in the driveway or within blocks of the home.
You might not immediately think of helmets for horseback riding or waterskiing, but severe and fatal injuries can occur even with simple falls in these activities as well. It’s not uncommon when a rider falls from a horse to strike the hard ground or a rock. Equestrian-specific helmets are available, even for individual types of riding.
Helmets designed for wakeboarding and waterskiing are similar to others, but also have rubber or plastic flaps that fit loosely over the ears. These can prevent injuries to the head upon impact with the water’s surface or a loose ski. They can also prevent ear drum rupture by protecting the ears.
The mechanics of injury varies widely from one sport to another. But increasingly, clinical research is showing that concussions, and particularly multiple concussions, have long-term effects on a developing brain. A helmet may be the difference between a few tears shed and a trip to the ER. It can mean the difference between a mild concussion and a skull fracture or blood clot on the brain that requires emergency surgery.
For decades, the Neurosurgery and Trauma departments at CoxHealth have treated head injuries in people from all over the region. While we are fortunate to care for these patients in the Midwest’s most advanced emergency and trauma center, a state-of-the-art NeuroTrauma ICU, Pediatric Unit and Pediatric ICU, we see traumatic brain injuries far too often. So we have developed an education and helmet distribution program to help keep kids out of the ER. For more information, call 417-269-0920.
View one family’s touching story about the importance of proper helmet use at coxhealth.com. [Supporting link for online readers: http://www.coxhealth.com/body.cfm?id=3391]
Sources
FACT SHEET
(Adopted from www.thinkfirst.org and www.safekids.org)
85-88% of critical head and brain injuries can be prevented through the use of a bicycle helmet.
Helmets can prevent 75% of bicycle related deaths among children.
In the year 2000, 51,000 bicyclists were injured in traffic-related crashes.
A bicyclist died from injuries every six hours in 2002.
Bicycle helmet use by children ages 4-15 can prevent 39,000-45,000 head injuries and 18,000-55,000 scalp and facial injuries annually.
Bicycle deaths are most likely to occur in the summer between the hours of 3-9 p.m.
One in seven children will receive some sort of head injury as a result of a bike crash.
Bicycling is the cause of more visits to the ER for kids ages 5-14 than any other sport.
Between $109 million and $142 million in health care costs could be saved if 85% of all child bicyclists wore helmets for one year.
