Concussions in Figure Skating

[penguin]

I've hit my head twice from skating and gotten a concussion and it did rattle me, but I'm not convinced that helmets for figure skating is as much of an answer as some think. I do think it's a good idea for lower levels, maybe until a skater enters the lower freestyle levels. It's when you're learning to skate when (and I'm talking anecdotally) it seems far more likely that you'll clip your blades or lose balance or fall unexpectedly, and a helmet could be very useful.

The thing is, helmets can also hinder when you're skating too, and I actually think I would prefer not to use one now, because I feel like my senses are marginally dulled and my field of vision is impaired. I would be more paranoid going into jumps because I would have a bigger blind spot, and I'd feel like my sense of hearing might also be compromised. And hearing is very important on crowded freestyle ice, since I often hear a skater behind me before I'll see them and a split-second can be all it takes to evade a crash or be too late.

So there's that.

 

[Sam L]

I’ve never hit my head luckily, let’s hope it stays that way. And I have had some bad calls as would anyone who has gone through the process of learning Skating I’m sure. One thing I find is that I’m not comfortable generally in life where my head is not in an upright position so I think when I fall my head adjusts so that it never feels down. I’ll never wear helmets it just doesn’t seem right to me especially with sound and centre of gravity thing.

I do wear hip pads though because I’ve had a few falls on the side of my hip and I’m skinny so I feel it. Do hip pads alter centre of gravity? I saw a picture of Michelle Kean wearing one. Lol

 

[Ic3Rabbit]

I’ve never hit my head luckily, let’s hope it stays that way. And I have had some bad calls as would anyone who has gone through the process of learning Skating I’m sure. One thing I find is that I’m not comfortable generally in life where my head is not in an upright position so I think when I fall my head adjusts so that it never feels down. I’ll never wear helmets it just doesn’t seem right to me especially with sound and centre of gravity thing.

I do wear hip pads though because I’ve had a few falls on the side of my hip and I’m skinny so I feel it. Do hip pads alter centre of gravity? I saw a picture of Michelle Kean wearing one. Lol

Hip pads, no, not like a helmet would on ones head.

 

[VegMom]

He can't wear a cap or a helmet during competitions and tests and him wearing one during practices is just hindering him.

Where is your evidence???

He does just fine for competitions and tests - there's zero reason to believe what you say! You have not cited any studies or evidence for your claims.

This is a general behavior of yours. You just claim things to be true and your evidence is simply your own personal experience. Well, plenty of people with tons of personal experience in a sport have been wrong about scientific things such as which type of protective gear is best.

His coach is fine with the head protection.
He's progressing faster than most his age. He's been skating for 18 months and he's on doubles. From first time of the ice to now = 18 months.

He is NOT hindered by his cap. It's lightweight.

Athletes that get used to wearing head protection regularly adapt to the issues mentioned by that anti-helmet people. There is evidence for this in other sports so there's reason to believe it follows to skating (which we can't really know yet because there's not enough data on skating to tell). This study explains how football players who are habituated to wearing a helmet have a head and neck protection advantage over those who are not used to wearing helmets: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4645474/
The idea here is that if you don't wear a helmet regularly then the arguments about it altering your center of gravity and being a neck strain are accurate. But for people who are used to wearing helmets they adjust and get even more protection than just that the head has padding - they have stronger neck muscles.
Other studies cite that helmets are associated with lower, not higher, risk of neck injury:
https://www.researchgate.net/public...ck_and_fatal_injury_Revisiting_the_Hurt_Study
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15389588.2013.774083?src=recsys&journalCode=gcpi20

Plenty of studies suggest that helmets are useful tools at reducing the severity of head injuries. To argue otherwise, without evidence, is absurd.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23117389
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29277588
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19346425
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29126593

You see similar arguments against rear-facing carseats. Many parents simply don't want to believe the evidence. They make all kinds of arguments about it and many sound valid. But they are not backed up by evidence. They are just intuition about it and in that case the intuition is wrong. Remember, people opposed helmets for soldiers in World War I, they opposed helmets for motorcyclists and bicyclists too.

 

[mrrice]

I’ve never hit my head luckily, let’s hope it stays that way. And I have had some bad calls as would anyone who has gone through the process of learning Skating I’m sure. One thing I find is that I’m not comfortable generally in life where my head is not in an upright position so I think when I fall my head adjusts so that it never feels down. I’ll never wear helmets it just doesn’t seem right to me especially with sound and centre of gravity thing.

I do wear hip pads though because I’ve had a few falls on the side of my hip and I’m skinny so I feel it. Do hip pads alter centre of gravity? I saw a picture of Michelle Kean wearing one. Lol

These are like my famous last words... Seriously. I think the better you get, the less you pay attention when you're not jumping. Other than falling on a jump or having a collision, I never thought in a million years my skating life would end during crossovers. It's not something you ever think about or plan for. I've decided to call it fate since I did go on to a fairly successful singing career.

I wondered for a while, what would have happened if my Father hadn't forced out of skating but once I got my first tour, that all went away.

 

[LiamForeman]

I had a concussion from a bad fall on a jump. Fortunately no sequelae from that, but afterwards whenever I jumped I always wore a knitted winter hat which fortunately I never had to try out its effectiveness on hitting my head. The knitted hat didn't alter my comfort or hinder anything. If I had a kid in skating I'd insist on it during practice.

 

[Seren]

Helmets won't protect against all injury but they WILL protect against some. And that's for every safety device. Seatbelts don't protect against all car accidents. Neither do airbags. Or children's carseats. The goal of any safety device is to reduce injury and helmets would do that for figure skating. The fact that helmets won't prevent all injury is, again, NOT a valid argument against helmets.

and

If nothing else, use of helmets will strengthen skater's necks which can prevent some injury.

Your second point is false. The only way a helmet would strengthen the neck was if worn doing deep neck flexor exercises. Otherwise the weight will just put pressure on muscles that are likely already overworked and trying to stabilize that shouldn't be. I am a physical therapist and treat a lot of chronic neck pain- this is how I know this.

Most current research says that helmets alone are not enough to prevent brain trauma. What they do protect against is skull fractures. If the force of the fall/collision is sufficient then injury will still occur. I think it is up to the parent and skater to decide if and how long their skater will wear a helmet. What is more important is education on how to prevent and treat concussions (mental rest, when it is safe to return, ect.). I agree that what you are saying is not a valid reason to discredit helmets but nor is it a reason to require them. You are more likely to injure you hip, knee, foot or back. Do we require padding for all of these?

It should be up to the skater and the parent. But I'm not convinced helmets are the answer- education is.

(I have also had a concusssion. Ironically it was on ice but not skating- more like falling on ice in the middle of the road.It was scary and it took about a month before I was back to normal and could read and use the computer again). A helmet wouldn't have prevented my concussion.

Concussions are very serious and need to be taken seriously. But more important than a helmet that can cause a false sense of security is specific protocols for how to handle a concussion, when it is safe to return to sport and how quickly, and how to prevent them in the first place. This is where our efforts should be focused.

 

[Ghost]

I remember seeing video of Doug Ladret and Isabelle Duchesnay training in helmets after returning to the ice from head injuries, but well before competition day.

the difference is that wasnt a concussion.. that was a crack in the skull. Ive had talks with doug about this, he claimed it was a pain to train in it, but for obvious reasons (( cracked skull )) he went along with it just so
he could continue training.

The real issue, is the sports organizations penalize most skaters who are injured with the threat of replacement. If your a competitor just breaking into the ranks or not "top dog", you will skate through injury, and you will "suck it up".
Because losing points from not attending a comp is devastating to your standings vs doing a poor comp with an injury. The entire system is flawed, if your a top dog, your spot is guaranteed if your a nooby working up, u gotta be "tough"

 

[Sam L]

These are like my famous last words... Seriously. I think the better you get, the less you pay attention when you're not jumping. Other than falling on a jump or having a collision, I never thought in a million years my skating life would end during crossovers. It's not something you ever think about or plan for. I've decided to call it fate since I did go on to a fairly successful singing career.

I wondered for a while, what would have happened if my Father hadn't forced out of skating but once I got my first tour, that all went away.

I’ve heard of people breaking their arm during a classical ballet class by running into a wall. Not sure how that happens but freak accidents happen all the time. Was it Brian Boltanonor someone who had an ice show and fell backs simply by skating along and hit his head?

This is why I work on posture, being in the moment and being aware of what’s happening all round. This is all important in figure skating anyway.