Skiers, Snowboarders, and Safety Helmets
- Michael D. Cusimano, MD, PhD;
- Judith Kwok, BSc
- Author Affiliations: Division of Neurosurgery, St Michael's Hospital, Toronto (Dr Cusimano); and Injury Prevention Research Office, St Michael's Hospital and University of Toronto (Dr Cusimano and Ms Kwok), Toronto, Canada.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- BRAIN INJURIES
- HEAD INJURIES, CLOSED
- HEAD PROTECTIVE DEVICES
- INJURY PREVENTION
- OLYMPIC GAMES
- PUBLIC HEALTH
- SKIING
- SNOW SPORTS
- SPORTS
- WOUNDS AND INJURIES
As the Winter Olympics focus the world's attention on alpine sports, opportunities will arise to promote the use of personal protective equipment while skiing or snowboarding. Of the 600 000 ski- and snowboard-related injuries each year, an estimated 15% to 20% are traumatic brain injuries,1 which are the leading cause of hospitalization and account for 50% to 88% of total deaths in skiers and snowboarders.2 The US Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that 44% of head injuries sustained during skiing and snowboarding could be prevented by the use of helmets and that the use of helmets for children could reduce head injuries during these activities in this group by 53%.2 Furthermore, recent studies have shown that helmets are associated with up to a 60% reduction in the risk of head injuries and that their use does not appear associated with an increased incidence of cervical spine or neck …
