Thomas Henson, cycling team captain

According to an article in Bike World News, two major cycling organizations have jointly released recommendations for how to treat cyclists who have sustained head trauma.

Medicine of Cycling, an independent group of physicians and psychologists working to improve processes that can have a meaningful impact on the way care is delivered to cycling athletes, recently formed the Medicine of Cycling Concussion Task Force which aims to increase awareness of concussion and improve safety for cycling athletes. The guidelines pertain to adult athletes only, as younger riders are even more vulnerable to brain injury. These guidelines are intended to educate cycling team managers, coaches and athletes on the symptoms and management of concussion in athletes. The guidelines are not a surrogate for evaluations by appropriately trained medical professionals.

The guidelines include actions to take in the pre-season, how to evaluate for concussion after a head injury, and considerations for returning to cycling after a concussion.

If you are a serious cyclist—especially if you are a member of a cycling team—you need to read these concussion guidelines so that you, team coaches, and teammates are all on the same page when it comes to head injury.

Ride like the wind… but stay safe!

P.S.  If you would like to join the HensonFuerst Cycling Team, we are adding new riders to our group. We ride for fun, and for community support, fundraising for health organizations, and disease awareness. Cyclists of all skill levels are welcome.

RESOURCES

To read the full article in Bike World News, click here:  Medicine of Cycling releases concussion guidelines

To read the concussion guidelines, click here:  Concussions in Cyclists

Serious snow-sport injuries are quite rare, thank heavens. But a new study published in the British Medical Journal suggests that if skiers and snowboarders are required to wear helmets, injuries could be reduced even further.

Every year, approximately 12,000 people go to the hospital with a head injury due to snow sports. There are about 40 fatalities annually. Experts have been trying to find a way to reduce those numbers as much as possible, and the most compelling suggestion is to make helmets mandatory.

We know that wearing safety helmets for motorcycling and bicycling provide effective protection against head and brain injuries, so it seems logical that a skiing helmet could provide effective protection against head and brain injuries in many types of skiing-related incidents involving head impact. Research supports that logic.

The scientists examined injuries from 20 of the largest ski areas in Quebec, Canada, during the 2001-2002 winter ski season (November through April). During those six months, there were 4,377 injuries. Of those, 1,082 were head and neck injuries. The researchers followed up with the injured skiers to find out how the injury happened, whether they had been wearing a helmet, and the outcome of their injuries.

The results:

Wearing a helmet while skiing or snowboarding may reduce the risk of head injury by 29% to 56%—that is, for every 10 people who wear helmets, three to six may avoid head injuries. This may even be an underestimate if, as in cycling, the helmets were worn incorrectly or were in poor condition, or were not designed for skiing or snowboarding.

The effect of helmet use on neck injuries was less clear, and there was some suggestion that helmet use increased the risk of neck injuries. More research will be needed to clear up that question.

At HensonFuerst, we see people whose lives have been permanently changed due to traumatic brain injury (TBI). This is a devastating injury. We’re in favor of measures that could reduce the risk of TBI. More research should be conducted to clarify the safety of helmets for all users, but it seems that the prudent action is to treat skiing and snowboarding like other fast-paced sports by wearing a helmet.

What do you think? Should helmets be mandatory for skiers and snowboarders?

To read the full journal article, click here: Effectiveness of Helmets

To learn more about TBI, visit our website at http://www.lawmed.com/. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

HensonFuerst Attorneys is proud to be the Title Sponsor for the 2011 Ride for the Rock fundraiser. We invite you to come out and ride with the community to help support Mark “The Rock” Ornitz and family.

In 2005 Mark suffered a brain injury due to a cycling accident during a race. Mark continues to be strong during his ongoing rehabilitation. Each year, Mark’s fellow cyclists, teammates, and Capital Cycling Club members honor Mark with this special ride to benefit the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina. In addition to fundraising, Ride for the Rock promotes brain injury awareness and prevention among cyclists.

Ride Details

• DATE:  Saturday, March 5, 2011
• TIME:  9:00 am
• START:  Waverly Place Whole Foods in Cary

The ride will be fully supported, including multiple pit stops and a sag wagon. The entry fee is $20 online through BikeReg (day-of is $25). Tee shirts will be available to purchase day of for $10. All proceeds go directly to the Brain Injury Association of North Carolina. Preregistration is available at Bikereg.com or mailing in the registration form. Route sheets will be available at registration. (BIANC is also accepting tax-deductible donations.)

Come join us…or at least cheer us on!

This week, two articles published in the medical journal Pediatrics highlight the extremely high cost of motorcycle wrecks for youths ages 12 to 20.

The first study, “Youth Motorcycle-Related Hospitalizations and Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States in 2006,” showed that the number of motorcycle deaths and injuries are increasing for children and young adults. Between 1999 and 2006, there was an 88% increase in motorcycle-related deaths. Among young motorcycle riders who are in a crash, one-third sustain a traumatic brain injury (TBI). Those with TBI were more likely to be discharged to a rehabilitation facility (instead of home), and 24% had long-term TBI-related disability.

The second study, “Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005-2007,” examined how differing helmet laws affect rates of brain injury and death among motorcycle riders ages 12 to 20. The researchers found something unexpected: States that have a youth-specific helmet law have an increased risk of  TBI that required hospitalization, disability, and death. States with a specific <21 law have 38% higher rates of serious TBI than states with universal helmet laws.

What might account for this counterintuitive finding? Perhaps universal helmet laws make adults more likely to remember their child’s helmet when they put on their own. Or it may be that adults who regularly use helmets themselves pay more attention to other aspects of safety while driving a motorcycle. The study just examined the numbers…it didn’t provide answers. However, the study’s authors declare:

Advocates for repealing universal helmet laws often assert that this retains their desire for choice while protecting young adults. This assertion is dubious; with consistent evidence of increased death and serious injury to young adults and minors who are supposed to be protected.

We agree. We have seen first-hand the devastation of traumatic brain injury caused by crashes involving motorcycles. We represent people who have had their lives destroyed by motorcycle wrecks. There is no good reason to subject a young person to risks they cannot control, and which carry such a potentially high price tag.

To read the full studies, click on the titles below:

“Youth Motorcycle-Related Hospitalizations and Traumatic Brain Injuries in the United States in 2006″ [Weiss, et al. Pediatrics, November 15, 2010]

“Youth Motorcycle-Related Brain Injury by State Helmet Law Type: United States, 2005-2007″ [Weiss, et al. Pediatrics, November 15, 2010]

To read more about traumatic brain injury and/or motorcycle wrecks, see our dedicated pages at www.lawmed.com. If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

You know that feeling of dragging your body around in a North Carolina heatwave? Feeling sluggish and fatigued and just plain drained? (Yes, I’m happy it’s finally autumn.) But what if that feeling didn’t go away when the weather broke?

That’s what happened to Marilyn Berger, a contributor to The New York Times. As she describes in a fascinating article, Ms. Berger’s story started May with a fall from her bike. She landed on grass, but her helmet got crunched. By July, during the worst of the summer’s heat wave (and about two months after the fall), Ms. Berger was dragging along like the rest of us. Well, not quite like the rest of us. Her symptoms didn’t stop when the temperature dropped.

To make her awful and riveting story much shorter than it deserves, it turns out that the bike fall caused more than just a damaged helmet–her brain was injured, too. The diagnosis was a subdural hematoma, the type of blood clot thought to have killed actress Natasha Richardson last year.  She nearly died, and was saved only by the fact that a house guest was around to discover her in bed, incoherent.  She had brain surgery; she lived to tell the story.

Ms. Berger tells the story much better, with poignancy and clarity. There are two morals to this story. The first, which Ms. Berger leaves unspoken, is that all head injuries should be taken seriously. The second is that when a brain is injured, a brain can’t recognize the injury. Ms. Berger’s foot had been dragging, she weaved when she walked, she felt tired–the brain can concoct all kinds of reasons for the physical changes. Like extreme summer heat.

Which brings us back to moral number one: All falls need to be taken seriously. Especially because we may not always recognize the most serious of symptoms.

Please read the entire article. You’ll never look at a simple fall the same way again. Click this link:  The New York Times: “The Calm Before the Brain Injury Was Discovered”

To learn more about the effects of traumatic brain injury, see our website:  HensonFuerst Brain Injury page

The average cyclist crashes about every 4,500 miles. Kids? Seems like at least once a week. Wearing a helmet has been shown to prevent up to 75% of cyclists’ head injuries… and are required by law in the state of North Carolina for all cyclists under age 16.*

Here’s what you need to know about choosing and wearing a bicycle helmet.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN A HELMET

• Helmets must meet the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission standard. Look for one of the following stickers: CPSC sticker, or ASTM’s F1447 sticker, or Snell’s B-95 sticker. (CPSC and ASTM standards are identical; Snell’s is even tougher, but you’ll rarely see these.)
• Choose color with visibility in mind: white is still best, next in line come other bright colors that are easily seen by drivers.
• Choose a helmet that is totally smooth, with no points that can snag. A good helmet is designed to protect your head in case the worst possible event occurs: if you are hit by a car. It needs to be smooth to “glide” along pavement (instead of catching in a way that bends your neck), and to prevent any protrusion from catching under the bumper of a car.
• If you ride a mountain bike, look for models that offer protection from trailside hazards.
• If you have unusual needs–or if you simply want help with your helmet choice–ask for help at a specialized cycling store, which will have a wider range of products and the expertise to help. For example, there are helmets to fit unusually large heads…padding to fit unusually small heads…helmets with “ponytail ports” for people with long hair…helmets with no large top vents for people with sparse or no hair.

WHAT TO AVOID

Avoid anything that prevents you from wearing a helmet properly, or which violates the definition of a “good helmet” listed above. In particular:

• AVOID dark colors
• AVOID extreme aero shapes, which provide a convenient “lever” for knocking the helmet aside in a fall
• AVOID squared-off, ridged, ribbed, or spiked shapes
• AVOID helmets without a standards sticker on the inside
• AVOID helmets with thin straps (more likely to break)
• AVOID helmets that don’t allow good visibility
• AVOID helmets that don’t fit properly
• AVOID helmets with strap adjustments that are too complicated for comfortable, everyday use

WHEN TO REPLACE A HELMET

• For sure, if the last time you bought a helmet was before 1999, the last time the U.S. government updated safety standards.
• Replacement recommended every 5 years, but can go longer if you don’t ride often.
• For sure, if the helmet has a crack or dent.
• Recommended after any crash–some damage may not be visible.
• If your helmet shows bubbling or other signs of heat damage

HOW TO WEAR A HELMET

For a video on how to do a helmet fit test, click here: Helmet Fit Test Video

For an illustration of the right and wrong ways to wear a helmet, click here: “Do you know the right way to wear a helmet?” or here: “Easy Steps to Properly Fit a Bicycle Helmet”

• A helmet is properly worn level on the head–not tilted forward or backward.
• The helmet should sit low on the forehead, one or two finger-widths above the eyebrows.
• The strap should be fit snugly–not loose, not too tight for comfort.
• Once on the head, try to move it with your hands. The helmet shouldn’t move more than an inch in any direction no matter how hard you try.

SPECIAL INFORMATION ABOUT HELMETS FOR KIDS

• Every child who rides alone or on the back of an adult’s bike needs a helmet. However, until a child reaches age 1 year, the neck muscles aren’t strong enough to support a helmet. If you have questions about riding with a toddler, talk with your child’s pediatrician about the best protection.
• Replace a helmet as often as you need to assure a good, safe fit. Consider a helmet at least as important as shoes.
• Some child helmets have several foam inserts of different thicknesses. These can be changed out to accommodate a growing head. (And the different thicknesses do NOT affect the protection offered by the helmet.)
• Teach your child that bike helmet is for biking or skating with in-line skates only. Skateboarding requires a different helmet.
• VERY IMPORTANT WARNING: A child SHOULD NOT wear a bike helmet on the playground. Children have died due to crush or strangulation when the helmet got caught on climbing equipment. For more information about this topic, click here: “Wear Bike Helmets On Bicycles – Not On Playgrounds”

HOW TO GET YOUR CHILD TO WEAR A HELMET

• Start by being a good role model: Wear a helmet yourself while riding!
• Make wearing a helmet a requirement right from the first day your child starts riding a 2-wheeler. If you make it an important rite of passage, it will feel more like something to be proud of. (Do you remember the day your training wheels were finally taken off? That kind of pride.)
• Explain why wearing a helmet is important.
• Talk with the parents of your child’s friends to let them know that you require your child to wear a helmet…and that you would like their help in applying that rule. This is a great opportunity to ask if they also require their children to wear helmets–kids are more likely to wear helmets if their friends also do.
• Point out cyclists wearing helmets as you’re driving, or if you watch bike races on television.

FAMOUS LAST WORDS…

From actual people who crashed:

• “I didn’t think I needed a helmet–I was only going about a mile.”
• “I don’t know what happened. The brakes locked on a turn and I flipped over the front wheel.”
• “I wasn’t expecting that rock to be there.”

* While your child’s brain depends on a helmet, don’t forget that your child depends on you and your healthy brain. The HensonFuerst traumatic brain injury team has seen too many people suffer permanent, catastrophic brain damage from bicycle accidents.

INFORMATION SOURCES:

Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

SafeKids USA

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: Helmet Laws by State

ASTM International: Standards Worldwide

REI: How to Choose a Bicycle Helmet

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Wikipedia: Bicycle Helmet

I always preach about the importance of wearing a bike helmet to avoid head injury, and here is yet another example out of the UK.  Helmets work, and on young kids they are especially important since kids are more likely to wreck their bike than an older, more skilled rider.  Make it a rule in your house if you have young children.  No helmet, no riding.  Period.  For the entire article, follow this link:   http://www.dudleynews.co.uk/news/4458265.Cycle_helmet_prevents_serious_injuries/