CONCUSSIONS

[vancity_kid 0]

This goes out to all of you who have suffered from a concussion (3rd degree) on the mountain.

 

My season was cut short last year by a third degree concussion (passed out for 10 seconds, loss of memory, bruised ribs, etc).

 

My questions that I put out to you guys:

1.) How was it the first time you got back out on the mountain following your concussion?

2.) Did you go all out?

3.) Was it easy to overcome the fear of reinjury?

4.) I heard that once you have suffered a serious concussion, it becomes much easier for you to suffer another. Do you think my helemet will make much of a difference if I land on my head again?

 

PS The ski patrol that I dealt with sucked donkey ballz.

[Ocean11 0]

I got concussed doing a headplant off my bike in my teens. I was out for nearly two days and had to have all sorts of brain scans and stuff. I also had a terrible headache for several weeks.

 

Since then, I've knocked my head a few times and not suffered anything more serious than a headache. I found that even in further bike accidents and snowboard stacks, I've got more aware of protecting my head.

 

So in my experience, you don't get more concussion prone. And although bashing your head when wearing a helmet is still unpleasant, it doesn't compare with the pain of the same impact without a helmet.

[Fattwins 0]

I did something like that when I was 18. But I didn’t go to the doctor should have. If you have any doubts then just go slow. Don’t go hitting the first huge kicker without your mind working 100% on what your about to do.

 

I crushed myself last year came up short on a 3 crunched and bounced. I still have a funny cracking feeling in my rib cage, I think minor cartilage damage. That one jump taught me to keep my head in the game.

[vancity_kid 0]

Yeah, I hear you brother, I changed my mind just as I went off the lip of the table top and didn't get enough rotation on the back flip. Landed on my head and was out cold. Had to get towed down the mountain but yeah, I don't remember that either.

[mikazooki 0]

i spent a night in hospital after coming off my skateboard, rounding a turn at the bottom of a big hill. had a brain scan and was released the next day, but the hospital called me back to say they had found something unusual on the scan (unrelated to the clonk) and i needed another scan. this was a scary moment, but then after the second scan, they said - "ah, it was nothing. go along now."

 

after that i too had a screamer of a headache for weeks and couldn't bounce up and down - ie run, skate or do anything strenuous involving brain bounce.

 

much later, the first time i clunked my head on concrete again was not pleasant. not a bad kulunk, but brought back lots of bad memories. and spoilt my mood for the rest of the day (along with the headache).

 

snowboarding, now, i wear a helmet, and really like it. i bought a helmet for my pushy (thats a push bike to those who don't know) too and wear it voluntarily.

[barok 0]

I have suffered several concussions. . .

 

they say that each one increases your chances of Alzheimer's by x% x being a number I can't remember, maybe 4??

 

Anyways, yeah, once I did a standing backflip to concrete headplant and knocked myself out. Once I was swinging on some ceiling pipes, gymnastics style, got horizontal, and my hands slipped, landing the back of my head on the polished cement floor. And once I fell face first on a big kicker, broke my nose and knocked myself out, bad concussion. These days, I don't sweat them at all, I think my extacy blackouts circa 2000 caused far more brain damage than the concussions, so I still go off big jumps, but with a helmet. Oh yeah, and I spend alot of time "getting to know" the kickers as well. Helmets are a neccessity, ask any mountain area physician how many snowboarders turned vegetables they know, and you'll tie one on.

 

But you did, so anyways, wearing a helmet makes a huge difference. In two incidences, I would have suffered terrible concussions if it weren't for my lid. Once I fell off the lip of a halfpipe onto the flat on my head, landed so hard, I almost passed out, but I was okay, thanks to my helmet. Another time I planed out backwards on an icey kicker onto the back of my head. I hit my head so hard that I thought I lost some teeth. To this day, I think that fall would have split my head wide open, but I was once again okay thanks to the helmet.

 

Oh yeah, and when doing backflips, frontflips, corkscrews, or anything for that matter, you gotta commit.

[r45 4]

Never myself but my buddy did when we were out last season, a bit frightening but nothing too bad in the end. It didn't seem to bother him much at all - he was back at it as soon as possible.