Vance's thoughts on Bike Helmets

"Please Wear a Helmet!" 

I study spinal cord injury and traumatic brain injury.  I go to the National NeuroTrauma meeting every year.   The sad truth is that there are no good treatments for head injury.  Once you have it, you probably have it for life.   Concussions can lead to stretching of nerve cells, causing an increase in the proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease.  So banging your head now can cause problems today and also many years from now.

Some very instructive studies are on football players because the players often have relatively mild concussions that are documented and the players get rapid treatment.  Old Pro players have trouble.  College players have trouble.  So do high school players.

My wife, who is WAY smarter then I am, thinks it if terrible when she sees a family on a ride with the kids wearing helmets and the dad  without.   She worries he is setting a bad example.   Personally, I think the guy is nuts because he is putting his whole family at risk by not protecting his brain.

If you want to know more about bike helmets and bike safety check out the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute web site, the Neuroscience for Kids web site and the Bicycle Helmet FAQs website.