Montrose - Daily Press

Earbuds seem to be everywhere.

You see them in the ears of downhill skiers on easy, intermediate and expert slopes. They sprout from digital players dangling from the necks of preteen, teen and fully grown snowboarders. Their wires trail from the stocking caps of backcountry skiers on climbing skins, high above timberline.

Between ripping, burning, swapping and organizing, many of us put immense effort into making our favorite music accessible to us during our outdoor sports activities.

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But what protects the music player we each carry between our ears �” the human brain, that is? Less than half an inch of skull bone has to do the job. Even when we strap our feet onto a purposefully slick-bottomed board or two, we depend on just that much casing to guard the exquisitely intricate brain.

We might even choose to ski, and not just slowly, where we will pass among trees as big around as we are. The trunk of one of those trees, of course, does not move much in the course of its decades of life, even when a skier hits it. No matter how much fun we are having riding a board, we know that in a collision, the tree will win every time.

You are not alone

Many school districts now require helmets for their students who elect to participate in any school-sponsored field trips to ski or snowboard. In Montrose, the Centennial Middle School Ski/Snowboard Club information sheet states in bold print: “You must have a helmet and will not be allowed to ski/snowboard without one.”

Many lift-served ski areas make sure ski school students under 18 wear helmets before they will be accepted for lessons.

When I climb uphill on ski skins into the backcountry nowadays, more and more often I notice that splitboarders and skiers each tend to wear a daypack with a helmet strapped onto it during their climb up. Good idea. The anticipation of putting sinuous tracks through the powder deep among the spruce and fir far outweighs the few extra ounces attached to the pack on the way up.

An ounce of prevention

A helmet can keep you from having to find out first-hand more than you would like to know about head injury.

Head injury is a broad term that covers the range from a mild blow to actual skull fracture. In sports medicine, each year sees great improvements in our understanding of what used to be referred to only as concussion. That term has been too narrowly interpreted as only applying to loss of consciousness or getting “knocked out.”

In recent years, the International Conference on Concussion in Sport has addressed the issues of terminology, diagnosis and return-to-play criteria in this important area of health. As a result, more athletes of all kinds are becoming aware that confusion after a blow to the head can represent a mild form of concussion, even if there was no loss of consciousness.

Amnesia is a somewhat more significant symptom. Of course, loss of consciousness, even briefly, suggests an even more potentially dangerous form of head injury has occurred.

All of these forms of concussion are more accurately described by the term Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Alterations in memory, personality and coordination can result. A helmet lowers your risk of developing these symptoms if an edge does not track quite right on one of your turns through the trees.

Just in case

Whether from a fall onto a snow-covered boulder or from striking a tree trunk, if one of your ski buddies sustains a head injury, get professional help. At a lift-served ski area, this means contacting the ski patrol. In the backcountry, however, this may well require activating Emergency Medical Services and the Mountain Rescue crew.

Without cellular phone service, you may have to recruit passing skiers or boarders to go for help while you keep the injured person warm and under observation until help arrives. A blow that can lead to head injury also can endanger the neck and spine, possibly requiring stabilization before attempting to move the injured friend from the scene.

Therefore, if your favorite snow sport involves moving downhill through trees faster than you can run, resolve to get yourself a helmet. If not now, at least commit to buying one later in March, during the end-of-season sales.

Keep that music, and all of those great memories, playing in your head for years to come.

John Unger is a diplomate of the American Chiropractic Board of Sports Physicians, in his 22nd year of keeping athletes and families healthy and active. His helmet fits well and travels with him often. Your feedback and ideas for future columns are welcomed at www.sportsdocunger.com.

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