Safety

Vertebral artery (e.g. whiplash) injuries, such as the one that claimed the life of Canadian freestyle skier, Sarah Burke, can occur to athletes in contact sports, such as football and hockey, and sports where falling is common, such as skateboarding and skiing

A revolutionary new product called Shockbox^TM triggers an alarm on a smart-phone whenever an athlete suffered a blow to the head hard enough to cause possible concussion so the player can be immediately removed from the game or practice for a sideline assessment.

Ever wonder if media exposure can have a positive effect on sports safety? One has to look no further than to what happened after the deaths of two celebrities in skiing accidents in Europe and North America during the winter of 2008-9, the first, a German politician, wearing a ski helmet, who suffered a traumatic brain injury but survived a collision with a helmet-less mother of four on a ski slope in Austria on New Year's Day 2009 in which the woman died; the second, involving actress Natasha Richardson, who died after a traumatic head injury while skiing without a helmet on a beginner's slope in Quebec in March 2009.

Taking a family ski vacation over Christmas break? MomsTeam busts the 12 most common misconceptions about skiing safety and equipment.

Is a trip to the slopes in your family's plans for Christmas vacation this year?  Did you know that traumatic brain injury accounts for 50% to 88% of skiing and snowboarding fatalities and that the risk of head injury and of loss of consciousness increases for skiers and snowboarders not wearing a helmet when they fall.  Your child or teen may not think wearing a helmet is cool, but it could save their life.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) staff is recommending skiers  wear helmets to help prevent head injuries from falls and collisions.

Snowboarding involves a slightly higher risk of injury than skiing (around 3-5 injuries per thousand days riding compare to 2-3 injuries per thousand days of skiing).