Skater needs helmet

The importance of wearing helmets when skateboarding and of skating only in designated areas has been raised again, due to several recent incidents.

A 14-year-old teenager in Lisle, IL, was on his skateboard, trying to hitch on to a moving car to get extra speed last Aug.1, when the car suddenly sped up. The teenager fell, and spent two weeks in a drug-induced coma as doctors labored to limit the damage to the brain. The teenager was released from hospital Wednesday, but more weeks of rehabilitation are in store. Much of the damage, doctors said, would not have happened if he had worn a helmet.

Two children in California were not so lucky. A 12-year-old boy fell off a skateboard in Moreno Valley Aug. 11. He died when his bare head hit the pavement. An 11-year-old girl was skateboarding in a street in Menifee, Long Beach when she lost control and fell. She died three days after.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) said there were over 15,000 visits to hospital emergency rooms in 2006 for skateboarding-related injuries, and 60% of those injured were skaters under 25 years of age. Although skateboarding deaths are rare, the CPSC believes it is time to impress upon skaters the importance of wearing safety equipment, especially helmets.

The commission is set to launch a campaign to promote health safety nationwide, with the help of a police captain in San Mateo, CA, whose son died days after being injured in a skateboarding accident last March.

The commission wants to stress to skaters that they should always wear a safety helmet and avoid skating on busy streets near traffic.

Helmets are the most important safety equipment. You should get a proper-fitting helmet and a chin strap. The helmet should not block your vision and hearing.

Helmets are designed to crack on impact. This intentional design is meant to absorb the shock of impact and dissipate its energy, sparing the skull and brain. Most injuries from skateboarding are minor, but about 10 to 15 percent of accidents cause major damage. You wouldn’t want to become one of them.

Skaters should be aware that over half of falls from skateboards are due to irregular surfaces. The leading injury is either a sprain or fracture of the wrist.

It will also help if the skater learns to fall properly by practicing to fall on grass or any soft surface. If you do fall, do not absorb the impact with your arms; instead, roll with the fall, the way the stunt men do.