WEARING A SKI HELMET AS A PREVENTION OF INJURIES

Alpsko rekreativno skijanje nagli je porast doživjelo nakon završetka Drugog svjetskog rata - s razvojem skijaške tehnologije pa sve do danas. Broj rekreativnih skijaša rastao je iz godine u godinu. S povećanjem broja skijaša, povećao se i broj ozljeda na skijaškim terenima. Iako je najučestalija skijaška ozljeda prednjeg križnog ligamenta, ozljede glave nalaze se na trećem mjestu. Ozljede glave nalaze na trećem mjestu s obzirom na frekvenciju pojavnosti svih skijaških ozljeda. Traumatska ozljeda mozga (eng. Traumatic Brain Injury – TBI) glavni je uzročnik pojave smrtonosnih ishoda. TBI se može podijeliti u tri razine: 1) blaga ozljeda mozga – gubitak svijesti ili pamćenja manje od sat vremena; 2) umjerena ozljeda mozga - gubitak svijesti do jednog dana i 3) ozbiljna ozljeda mozga – gubitak svijesti duže od jednog dana, koma i smrt. Glavni cilj rada bio je objediniti dokaze o prednostima i nedostatcima nošenja skijaške kacige. Dokazano je da skijaška kaciga pozitivno sprječava prodor tvrdih materijala, ali nepovoljno utječe na prodor zvuka do ušiju. Nekoliko je istraživanja dokazalo kako kaciga ima najnepovoljniji učinak za odrasle osobe koje su godinama skijale bez kacige, ali su iz nekog razloga počele nositi kacigu. U zaključku rada navodi se kako su kacige prisutne u drugim individualnim i ekipnim sportovima, ali i u svakodnevnoj uporabi prilikom vožnje bicikla. Skijaške bi se kacige trebale nositi zbog prevencije prodora tvrdih materijala, ali također bi se skijaše trebalo osvijestiti za ponašanje na stazi kako bi se nastanak nesreća i ozljeda smanjio na minimum.Alpine recreational skiing experienced a sharp increase with the development of ski technologies in the period from the beginning of the 20th century until 2020, the 21st st. The number of recreational skiers grew from year to year with a million increase. With the increase in the number of recreational athletes, the number of injuries also increased. The most common ski injury is a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) with an incidence of 20 - 29% of all injuries occurring until 1993. with very little or no decline in subsequent years. Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the most common cause of death. TBI can be divided into three levels: 1) Mild brain injury - loss of consciousness or memory in less than an hour 2) moderate brain injury - loss of consciousness for up to one day and 3) Serious brain injury - loss of consciousness for more than a day, coma, death. The main goal of the paper was to gather evidence on the advantages and disadvantages of wearing a ski helmet. It has been proven that a ski helmet prevents the penetration of hard materials, but adversely affects the penetration of sound to the ears. Several studies have proven that a helmet has the most adverse effect for adults who have skied without a helmet for years but for some reason started wearing a helmet. Regarding the occurrence of traumatic brain injury, there is insufficient research. A source was found in which the Austrian company "Atomic" presented a helmet with AMID technology for 2020. The technology is based on an additional sponge between the head and the helmet to redirect the resulting force and prevent the potential formation of TBI. The conclusion of the paper states that helmets are present in other individual and team sports, but also in everyday use when riding a bicycle. Ski helmets should be worn to prevent the penetration of hard materials, but skiers should also be made aware of their behavior on the piste to minimize the occurrence of accidents