|
|
FAMILY MEDICINE®
COLUMN
By Martha A. Simpson, D.O., M.B.A.
Associate Professor of Family Medicine
Ohio University College of Osteopathic
Medicine
3431-FM
02/09/11
HELMETS PREVENT HEAD INJURIES YEAR ROUND
Question:
Are winter sports safer than summer sports?
I ask this because you don’t see many people
wearing helmets when they ski, ice skate or
snowmobile. My husband says he doesn’t need
a helmet when he skis because the snow
cushions his falls, which are not very
frequent.
Answer:
Over 4 million people in the United States
go to the emergency room each year as a
result of all kinds of sports and
recreational activities. According to the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
an estimated 1.7 million of these emergency
visits result from sports-related traumatic
brain injury. While most of these
individuals are treated and released, around
275,000 require hospitalization, and more
than 50,000 die. So, even what seems to be a
relatively minor injury should be assessed
by a physician to determine the extent of
the damage.
Data on traumatic brain injury shows that
boys are twice as likely as girls to sustain
this type of injury. While motor vehicle
accidents are the leading cause of traumatic
brain injuries, sports and recreational
activities are not far behind as a
significant cause.
TBIs occurs any time there is a significant
blow to the head. They can be open wounds,
which are less common, or the much more
common closed head injuries. Closed head
types of traumatic brain injury are graded
as mild, moderate or severe and are more
commonly called concussions. Motor vehicle
accidents are the most common cause of TBI.
The symptoms can include headache,
dizziness, nausea, and a lack of
coordination. Amnesia, disorientation and
confusion can also occur.
Once a person has had a concussion, he or
she is at an increased risk for a second
one. There is a growing body of evidence
that repeated injuries over time can cause
permanent neurological damage. If there are
repeated mild head injuries over a short
period of time, the results can be fatal.
This is called second impact syndrome. This
occurs when there has been inadequate time
for the brain to heal from a previous
concussion.
Children are more likely to have head
injuries because they are more active than
adults, but there has been a steady rise in
the number of adult TBIs over the last 20
years. Older people can have a more
difficult recovery from a traumatic brain
injury than a child, and the short- and
long-term consequences can be more profound
in an older adult.
Just as skiers wear eye protection to
prevent eye damage, they need to wear
helmets for head protection. This is true in
almost any sport, summer or winter, that has
the potential of falls or collisions. Snow
is not enough to cushion a head when it
comes to falls during skiing. Your husband,
along with all skiers, skateboarders and
bicyclists, among others, should wear a
helmet.
Family Medicine® is a weekly column. General
medical questions can be sent to Martha A.
Simpson, D.O., M.B.A., Ohio University
College of Osteopathic Medicine,
Communication Office, Athens, Ohio 45701, or
familymedicine@oucom.ohiou.edu. Please
do not send letters asking Dr. Simpson to
diagnose a condition or suggest a treatment
plan. Medical information in Family
Medicine® is provided as an educational
service only and does not replace the
judgment of your personal physician, who
should be relied on to diagnose and
recommend treatment for your medical
conditions. Past columns are available
online at
www.familymedicinenews.org.
|
|
|
