Wear a helmet when skiing, snowboarding, rollerblading, or mountain biking
Among people who fell or collided while skiing or snowboarding, helmet wearers had fewer head injuries, including children under 13. In cycling, helmet wearers had fewer head injuries, serious head injuries and fatal head injuries. No increase in neck injuries was detected among helmet wearers.
A helmet costs a few hundred yuan. Putting it on and faste…
The skiing and snowboarding figures come from a pooled analysis of 12 studies. Most of the studies compared pe…
A helmet costs a few hundred yuan. Putting it on and fastening the strap takes a few seconds each time.
The skiing and snowboarding figures come from a pooled analysis of 12 studies. Most of the studies compared people with a head injury to other people and looked at who was wearing a helmet (case-control). For people wearing a helmet, the odds ratio for a head injury was OR 0.65 (95% CI 0.55–0.79). In the studies that included children under 13, OR 0.41 (0.27–0.59). For a neck injury, OR 0.89 (0.72–1.09), no statistically significant increase was detected. The bicycle figures come from 40 studies and more than 64000 people who fell off a bike or were in a crash. Head injury OR 0.49 (0.42–0.57). A serious head injury OR 0.31 (0.25–0.37). A fatal head injury OR 0.35 (0.14–0.88). A facial injury OR 0.67 (0.56–0.81). A neck injury OR 0.96 (0.74–1.25), no link visible. The Beijing Municipal Bureau of Sports says that after Beijing's local standard for ski resorts was revised in 2017, a helmet is required to enter an advanced run.
Russell K, Christie J, Hagel BE (2010). The effect of helmets on the risk of head and neck injuries among skiers and snowboarders: a meta-analysis. CMAJ, 182(4), 333-340. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.091080；Olivier J, Creighton P (2017). Bicycle injuries and helmet use: a systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(1), 278-292. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/dyw153；北京市体育局. 北京市政协十三届四次会议第1276号提案的答复意见：「明确要求滑雪者必须佩戴头盔方能进入高级道滑雪区域」. https://tyj.beijing.gov.cn/bjsports/zfxxgk_/1421305/jytablgz/11180211/index.html
Open source linkThese figures are the chance of a head injury after a fall or a collision. A helmet does not make you fall less often. No pooled study of the same kind was found for rollerblading or skateboarding. Those are carried over by analogy, because the way a fall hits the head is similar. The helmet should fit the head, the strap should be fastened tight, and a rented helmet should be tried on first. For wearing a helmet on a motorcycle or an e-bike, see section 1, item 2 (wear a helmet).