It is nothing new but a recent journal article argues that skiing and snowboarding enthusiasts should be wearing a helmet along with the rest of their gear, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
The study found that helmets decrease the risk of head injury for skiers and snowboarders by 35 percent. http://www.ivanhoe.com/channels/p_channelstory.cfm?storyid=23501
Traumatic brain injury is the No. 1 cause of death for skiers and snowboarders, the Canadian Medical Association says. Head injuries make up as much as 19 percent of injuries in ski and snowboard accidents, while neck injuries are up to 4 percent.
According to an analysis of 12 studies done in North America, Europe and Asia, it is beneficial to wear helmets during recreational activities, other some argue that helmets can lead to neck injuries.
Remember Natasha Richardson? A Canadian death from skiing. There is never a guarantee that a helmet will eliminate brain injury, as the forces which can injure a brain include many that a helmet will not eliminate. But the helmet should eliminate almost all skull fractures and if designed properly, reduce some of the impact forces on the brain when the head hits something while skiing. The problem with skiing helmets, like all helmets, is making them energy absorbing without making them stick to the surface in falls. When a helmet sticks to a surface in a high speed fall, the neck can be broken.
Natasha Richardson Details Reviewed
Perhaps no story impacting brain injury has impacted the public’s consciousness more than that of Natasha Richardson. I could write on this from dozens of angles and perhaps will in the coming months. The best news story (as opposed to commentary) on her injury and subsequent death is at the below link on the Global Mail website:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090327.wrichardson0327/BNStory/National/
What is clearer in this piece than in the others is how the life threatening delay in her treatment occurred. This happened because people who should have known better, allowed someone suspected of having a concussion, make the critical errors with respect to her medical care. It is a theme I have echoed since the first days of http://tbilaw.com in 1996. One cannot rely on the memory and/or judgment of someone who has been concussed.
If Natasha had been put in a helicopter when her symptoms started to progress in that first hour after brain injury, odds are she would be alive today. The type of brain injury that killed her is the type we have made the most advances in treating because it is the kind of brain injury for which surgery makes a difference.
When I and my co-author, Becca Martin were writing http://waiting.com in the winter of 1997, we had a dedicated nurse from Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin assisting us, Denise M. Lemke, RN. I asked her what she believed to be the most important advance in medical science to help brain injured, expecting her to say the CT or MRI. What she said then was “the helicopter.” As with Natasha, the flight for life is the true miracle, because it allows doctors to work their magic while there is still a chance to eliminate the true killer, intracranial pressure.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://subtlebraininjury.com
http://thelegaltimes.net
http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com
http://vestibulardisorder.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney
g@gordonjohnson.com
800-992-9447
©Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr. 2009
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090327.wrichardson0327/BNStory/National/
What is clearer in this piece than in the others is how the life threatening delay in her treatment occurred. This happened because people who should have known better, allowed someone suspected of having a concussion, make the critical errors with respect to her medical care. It is a theme I have echoed since the first days of http://tbilaw.com in 1996. One cannot rely on the memory and/or judgment of someone who has been concussed.
If Natasha had been put in a helicopter when her symptoms started to progress in that first hour after brain injury, odds are she would be alive today. The type of brain injury that killed her is the type we have made the most advances in treating because it is the kind of brain injury for which surgery makes a difference.
When I and my co-author, Becca Martin were writing http://waiting.com in the winter of 1997, we had a dedicated nurse from Froedtert Hospital in Milwaukee, Wisconsin assisting us, Denise M. Lemke, RN. I asked her what she believed to be the most important advance in medical science to help brain injured, expecting her to say the CT or MRI. What she said then was “the helicopter.” As with Natasha, the flight for life is the true miracle, because it allows doctors to work their magic while there is still a chance to eliminate the true killer, intracranial pressure.
Attorney Gordon Johnson
http://subtlebraininjury.com
http://thelegaltimes.net
http://tbilaw.com
http://waiting.com
http://vestibulardisorder.com
http://youtube.com/profile?user=braininjuryattorney
g@gordonjohnson.com
800-992-9447
©Attorney Gordon S. Johnson, Jr. 2009
CDC Finding re: Severe Traumatic Brain Injury
One of the most difficult to answer and unfortunately way to often asked questions on our 800 number is about coma prognosis and treatment. A study cited on the Center for Disease Control’s website (CDC) discusses new research in this area. With the Natasha Richardson seemingly mild brain injury that turned deadly, these findings become even more relevant.
From the CDC website, http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dir/Brain_Trauma_Guidelines.htm
From the CDC website, http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dir/Brain_Trauma_Guidelines.htm
CDC Study Finds that Adoption of the Brain Trauma Foundation Guidelines Could Result in a Substantial Reduction in Traumatic Brain-Injury-Related DeathsA great resource, but not distributed by the Federal Government, because of copyright restrictions. One really must wonder about the goals and objectives though of an organization called the Brain Trauma Association that is there to save lives in emergency situations, who restricts access to perhaps its most important educational goals. Some things should just simply be free of copyright. Were Federal tax dollars used for this research? How do non-profit organizations get their priorities so backwards?
CDC Study Finds that Adoption of the Brain Trauma Foundation Guidelines Could Result in a Substantial Reduction in Traumatic Brain-Injury-Related Deaths coverThe December issue of the Journal of Trauma: Injury, Infection, and Critical Care features a study conducted by CDC on the effectiveness of adopting the Brain Trauma Foundation (BTF) in-hospital guidelines for the treatment of adults with severe traumatic brain injury (TBI).
The findings presented in this article demonstrate that widespread adoption of these guidelines could result in a 50% decrease in deaths, and a savings of approximately $288 million in medical and rehabilitation costs. In addition, the study concludes that adopting these guidelines could result in $3.8 billion—the estimated lifelong savings in annual societal costs for severely injured TBI patients.
This study demonstrates that routine use of these guidelines could result in a substantial reduction in deaths and medical, rehabilitative, and societal costs.
The BTF guidelines for in-hospital care were developed over 10 years ago, in collaboration with the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS). Companion guidelines for pre-hospital care were prepared with the support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and issued later. Although disseminated widely, these guidelines need far greater implementation.
To purchase this special issue, access the publisher’s website.*
(CDC is unable to provide free copies because of copyright regulations.)