Sport scientists have called for skiers and snowboarders to wear ski helmets in a bid to reduce brain injuries.
Dr Gerhard Ruedl, a post doctoral researcher at the Department of Sport Science at the University of Innsbruck, Austria, said there was convincing evidence that ski helmets protect against head injury.
Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr Ruedl and colleagues cited a recent study that concluded that general head injury was reduced by 35 per cent when ski helmets were used. This increased to 59 per cent in children under 13.
“Wearing a ski helmet seems to make sense to prevent head injuries in all age groups,” say the authors.
The debate over the efficacy of ski helmets raged after two high profile accidents, which led to fatalities: German politician Dieter Althaus, who suffered appalling injuries after colliding with a woman on the slopes. She was not wearing a helmet and died. Despite wearing a helmet, he endured brain injuries following the accident in January 2009.
Two months later, English actress Natasha Richardson died after a traumatic head injury while skiing in Canada. She did not wear a helmet.
The authors acknowledge the arguments against helmets, which suggest they may provide a false sense of security and result in riskier behaviour.
But, they conclude that evidence points to helmets having a protective effect and say that action needs to be taken to increase helmet use. This could be done by ensuring they can be easily hired or be included in skiing packages.
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