Adolescent Substance Abuse Articles
Ski helmets may prevent brain trauma
By Staff Writer
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the leading cause of death and disability in children and adults between the age of 1 and 44, according to the Brain Trauma Foundation. Many of these incidents are the result of a simple fall or sports injuries.
However, mental health experts from the Department of Sport Science at the University of Innsbruck in Austria believe that many brain injuries could be prevented if skiers and snowboarders wore helmets. Their attempt at promoting the use of ski helmets appears as an editorial on the British Medical Journal's website.
In the editorial, the experts state that there is convincing evidence that ski helmets can protect against trauma to the head. They point to study results that showed ski helmets reduced head injuries by 59 percent for children under 13.
The experts believe that more people may use helmets if they were easy to obtain or included in ski packages. No matter how they are acquired, the experts feel that there is evidence of the protective effects helmets can have in preventing brain trauma.
Wearing a helmet while skiing could mean the difference between getting back on the slopes and having to go through residential rehab to recover from a TBI.
