Wear a Helmet, Save a Brain! Ski season is just around the corner - do you wear a helmet?
According to the National Ski Areas Association, 57 percent of U.S. skiers and boarders wear helmets, according to a 2010 survey. That's up from 25 percent in 2003.
Ski helmet use has steadily increased worldwide over the last 10 years in part as a result of preventive helmet campaigns but also in part as a result of increased media coverage after fatal injuries involving celebrities.
The most commonly reported reason for not wearing a helmet is impaired vision. Some skiers and boarders feel helmets affect their peripheral vision and thus their reaction time. A recent pilot study, released by The Wilderness & Emergency Medicine journal, investigated whether ski helmet use affects reaction time to peripheral stimuli.
The results showed that ski helmet use did not increase reaction time to peripheral stimuli. This information should be implemented in future preventive campaigns to increase helmet use in skiers and snow boarders.
A helmet does not prevent all brain injuries and other types of injuries, so you still have to ski responsibly. A helmet is not a license to ski recklessly.
Ski helmets can be purchased locally at Back Country Ski & Sports and Greenhouse Boardshop.
