On July 28, 2011, Northwestern Medicine in Chicago hosted a concussion symposium called “Playing It Safe: Changing the Mindset Around Concussion Safety.”  And a few top-notch physicians were on hand to talk about the effects of concussion.

Concussions are in the news every week these days. Former pro football players are suing the NFL, claiming that they were never warned of the dangerous, sometimes life-threatening effects of concussion. New helmets are being developed to protect brains better after hard hits. And coaches and players alike are receiving training in how to recognize and treat head injuries.

Concussions can happen anytime there is a blow to the head, causing a jarring or shaking that disturbs brain function.

“The brain is like jello, when jello is impacted it’s going to move within the bowl. The same thing applies for a brain; even if it’s the slightest impact the brain is affected,” said Carrie Jaworski, MD, head team physician for Northwestern University Athletics.

It’s easy to see why prevention and protection are so important—imagine trying to use a helmet to protect a bowl of Jell-O. Even the best helmet won’t keep the Jell-O from getting shaken up. And without a helmet, impacts can do even greater damage. Football players’ heads have at least some protection from those giant helmets; gymnasts’ and cheerleaders’ heads do not.

“Concussions aren’t discriminatory; they affect people of all ages and all activities, even in non-contact sports such as gymnastics or cheerleading,” said Hunt Batjer, MD, chair of the department of neurological surgery at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. “In fact, young girls may be at a higher risk than boys when it comes to concussions.”

Tips From the Concussion Symposium

Along with the usual academic discussions, the symposium provided some useful tips, too. Some of the information you may find helpful:

• Black outs. You don’t have to black out to have a serious concussion. In fact, most concussions don’t result in any black out, of any length.
• Game-specific signs of concussion. We know the general symptoms of dizziness, confusion, etc. But doctors at the symposium gave specific signs to watch for, which include appearing dazed or stunned; confusion about an assignment or position; forgetting a play; uncertainty of game, score, or opponent; moving clumsily; answering questions slowly; losing consciousness (even briefly); behavior or personality changes; and the inability to recall events before or after a hit or fall.

“If an outgoing and boisterous athlete on your team suddenly becomes quiet or withdrawn, this is a cue that the player needs to be taken out and evaluated. The signs can be very subtle, but if you feel like something is wrong, you need to assume it is,” said Adam Bennett, MD, sports medicine physician at Northwestern Memorial and assistant professor of family and community medicine at the Feinberg School.

• Second Impact Syndrome. Athletes who resume playing too soon after a concussion are at a greater risk for second impact syndrome, which can cause the brain to swell rapidly—a serious medical emergency. This occurs when a second head injury happens before the child recovers from the first concussion. Because the second hit happens when the brain is still injured, it is more vulnerable to additional injury…perhaps permanent, serious, irreversible injury.
• Encourage open dialog. Players need to know that talking about their symptoms is “safe”—that they will be respected for being open about their injury, and rewarded for taking time to heal. According to Dr. Batier:  “Players can shake off pain in the leg, but they should understand that they should never shake off a head injury.”
• Sidelining players. All players need to be sidelined until all symptoms have disappeared—that means not only the obvious physical symptoms of headache or blurred vision, but also normal concentration and resuming normal patterns of eating and sleeping. This could take three weeks…it could take three months or longer. For coaches and parents of youth athletes, this translates to a simple rule:  When in doubt, sit them out.

Also highlighted at the symposium were concussion war stories, such as this one from former football great Dan Hampton, from his years playing professional sports:

“I played during what I call the ‘crash-test for dummies’ period. Players would get hit so hard they wouldn’t even know how to walk off the field,” said Hampton. “I wish these discussions happened back when I played. Today most people are aware of the effects of a concussion, that wasn’t the case when I played.”

This is the kind of story no one wants to report. We believe and defend everyone’s right to free speech and beliefs. This story is nothing but tragic. But sometimes, out of tragedy and sadness, lessons can be learned.

On July 4, 2011, ABC World News reported that Philip A. Contos, 55, died while participating in a ride with 550 other motorcyclists to protest the state’s mandatory helmet law. With so many witnesses, the details are clear: Contos hit the brakes, and his Harley Davidson motorcycle fishtailed. He was thrown over the handlebars, hit his head on the pavement, and was pronounced dead at the hospital. According to a State Trooper interviewed by ABC News:

“The medical expert we discussed the case with who pronounced him [Contos] deceased stated that he would’ve no doubt survived the accident had he been wearing a helmet,” state Trooper Jack Keller told ABC News 9 in Syracuse. [ABC World News]

The rally rid was sponsored by ABATE–American Bikers Aimed Toward Education. Their goal is to promote motorcycle awareness and freedom. Despite the death, ABATE still supports the repeal of helmet laws. According to the ABATE of New York website:

“Mandatory helmet laws do nothing to prevent accidents. The decision on when to wear a helmet while operating a motorcycle should remain with each responsible adult rider.”

It is true that wearing a helmet does nothing to prevent accidents. However, it is also true that in the event of an accident, a biker wearing a helmet is more likely to survive a head injury, and will have less brain injury than a biker not wearing a helmet. It’s like saying steel-toed shoes won’t prevent warehouse accidents–true, but they will protect your toes should something fall on your foot.

According to a recent report by the Insurance Journal, Delaware (the only state included in the report) saw deaths from motorcycle crashes increase by more than 300% in the past year, compared with the previous year. Of those deaths, 80% occurred when riders were not wearing helmets.

At HensonFuerst, we have seen the aftermath of severe head and brain injury caused by auto and motorcycle wrecks, and we have represented and consoled many families grieving the loss of a loved one. From our perspective, helmet laws are in place to protect people who might be too short-sighted to recognize the physical damage that can occur after just a split second of poor judgment…or after another motorist causes an accident…or when road conditions become treacherous.

We’re not saying motorcyclists are unsafe–some of the bikers we know are better and safer on the road than many car drivers. We’re saying that protections are needed so that everyone stays as healthy and intact as possible should the worst occur.

To read more about motor vehicle safety, please feel free to visit our website at http://www.lawmed.com/.  If you have questions, HensonFuerst has answers.

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.

In cycling, the first line of defense against brain injury is the helmet. A properly fitted, regulation helmet can save your life in the event of a crash. But if the integrity of the helmet is compromised–if cracked or crushed in an accident–it loses its ability to protect your head. Unfortunately, a dangerous crack isn’t always obvious to the naked eye, so just examining a helmet after impact may not be enough.

Now, scientists have developed a helmet that emits a foul odor if cracked or crushed–the plastic of the helmet contains microcapsules that exude stinky odors when damaged. An article in ScienceDaily describes how it works:

A layer of melamine formaldehyde resin encloses the capsules so that they are completely airtight and mechanically sealed. It also protects the tiny pods, which are subjected to temperatures of 200 to 300 degrees during injection molding as well as static pressures of up to 100 bar.

Although these helmets are not available yet, they are currently being tested. Watch for them in the coming years–it just may be the stink that saves your brain.

RESOURCES

To read the full ScienceDaily article, click here: Crash Helmet With a Useful Smell

For more information about how to choose a good cycling helmet, click here: Need to Know! Bicycle Helmets

For information about traumatic brain injury (TBI), visit the HensonFuerst Attorneys’ dedicated web page: Traumatic Brain Injury

Help us welcome Brain Injury Awareness month by cheering on the HensonFuerst cycling team as we start out on the 100K “Ride for the Rock.” This fundraising event honors Mark Ornitz, a local cyclist who suffered brain injury during a ride.

There are four different ways you can help us along:

1. Join our team! Ride with HensonFuerst! contact ThomasHenson@lawmed.com
2. Come see us off. Be at the Cary Whole Foods parking lot by 9:00am and give us a cheer.
3. Donate. Any amount you can afford is welcome. Contact russell_stapleton@yahoo.com to find out more.
4. Send us an online shout-out!  Visit our Facebook page and post a message of support. (We can use all the good wishes we can get–100K is a long ride.) While you’re there, become a fan. You’ll see our regular and timely posts about product recalls, brain injury updates, and general legal information you can use.

Thank you!

The HensonFuerst Cycling Team

In an editorial in this week’s Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), experts report that Of the 600,000 ski- and snowboard-related injuries each year, up to 20% result in traumatic brain injury (TBI)…many times resulting in serious disability or death.

The editorial calls for a widespread change in the culture of snow sports so that helmet are not only required, but accepted and encouraged in the same way bicycle helmets have been adopted by casual and serious bikers. As a firm that sees a lot of people with TBI, we echo that call for change.

For any sport with speed or risk of falls, helmets are a smart way to protect your smarts!

In a recent vacation in the mountains, I saw many people enjoying motorcycle rides on the Blue Ridge Parkway.  It is a tempting hobby, especially when the weather is wonderful and the air is crisp.  However, motorcycle riders should be very conscious of the risks, and take every precaution to protect themselves from brain injury and other serious injuries that can occur when riding. 

Some recommendations from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) to increase motorcycle safety include:

- Improving the motorcycle braking system by utilizing anti-lock braking technology
- Making motorcycles and motorcyclists more visible with enhanced lighting
- Increasing the use of helmets
- Making other drivers more aware of sharing the road safely with motorcycles 

Please be careful if you are riding a motorcycle.  Our goal is to do everything we can to reduce head injuries, especially to those trying to enjoy their summer.