A Culture of Risk-Taking Can Lead to Brain and Spinal Cord Injuries in Winter Sports

By Emma Harrington
Director of Injury Prevention and Education, Shepherd Center

During my childhood, wearing a helmet to ski was decidedly uncool. Perhaps more telling of that era was the idea that skiing in jeans was very cool.

Since then, the news media has focused on a few high-profile cases of brain injury caused by skiing accidents. Actress Natasha Richardson died from her injuries on the slope, and more recently, race car driver Michael Schumacher sustained a disabling traumatic brain injury in a skiing accident.

Out of the 10 million or so people who ski and snowboard in the United States, 600,000 injuries occur annually. Of those, head trauma accounts for 20 percent and is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in these winter sports. (Haider 2012) Additionally, sport and recreation activities cause about 9 percent of all spinal cord injuries (Mayo Clinic 2015). This includes skiing, snowboarding, sledding and tubing.

Thankfully, in the past few years, helmet use in winter sports has become the norm with an almost 70 percent compliance rate – almost triple the number in 2003. (McMillan 2013) The rate of helmet compliance is encouraging, but it has brought to light troubling new statistics. Despite the number of people now wearing helmets, the number of skiers and snowboarders sustaining brain injuries or fatalities has seen no reduction. Worse, recent studies have claimed that head injuries have actually increased.

According to a Western Michigan University School of Medicine’s 2012 study, head injuries have increased by 60 percent in seven years. The University of Washington furthered those results in their 2013 study, showing a 250 percent increase in snow-sports-related head injuries among youths and adolescents.

Experts have debated several theories that may explain the simultaneous rise in helmet use and head injuries. Perhaps the most convincing argument relates to risk-taking behavior. It is telling to examine who is getting hurt: 70 percent of snow-sport fatalities involve males in their late teens to early 30s. (McMillan 2013) As snow sport technology has yielded better, faster skis and snowboards, a push for more extreme sporting has followed. Resorts have opened more dangerous trails and are accused of propagating the risk-taking skier/boarder mentality with sponsorships and promotions of ever-more dangerous flips and tricks.

Often, people are surprised to learn that brain injuries can occur even when wearing a helmet. That leads researchers to believe there is a false sense of security that is leading to an increase in risk-taking behaviors. Conversely, in Schumacher’s case, his life-threatening head injury would surely have been a death sentence were he not wearing a helmet.

Snow sports are a fun and great way to spend a winter afternoon, but like any sport, these activities come with some risk involved. Arm yourself with these tips (and helmets) to prevent a brain or spinal cord injury. Knowledge that leads to better decision-making is the key to prevention.

In addition to wearing your helmet, there are several, other smaller safety precautions that everyone should consider before hitting the slopes.

1. When going down a mountain, if you have to stop for any reason, move to the side of the trail. This prevents collisions with other skiers or boarders.
2. Take a break when tired, and skip the last run of the day. Injuries happen when you are tired and not paying full attention to your surroundings.
3. Stay at your level. Trails are always marked with a green circle, blue square or black diamond. Staying in control of your skis or snowboard are key to preventing injury.
4. Skiing off-piste exposes you to hidden rocks, ledges and avalanches, and is not worth the risk.
5. When sledding or tubing, always go down feet first. Breaking a leg is far better than hitting your head.

For more information on Shepherd Center's Injury Prevention Program, click here.

Sources
Haider, Adil H. "Helmets Save Lives of Skiiers and Snowboarders." Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery, 2012.
Mayo Clinic. 2015. www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/spinal-cord-injury/basics/causes/con-20023837
McMillan, Kelley. "Ski Helmet Use Isn't Reducing Brain Injuries." The New York Times, Dec. 31, 2013.

EMMA HARRINGTON is the director of injury prevention and education services at Shepherd Center. Previously, Emma started the injury prevention program at Grady Memorial Hospital in the Trauma Department. She holds a master of education degree in international education policy from Harvard University. Originally from Boston, Emma is a licensed social studies teacher.