[Mark in Idaho]

I am reposting this from the stickies for discussion

original posted by MomConcerned

list of sports and level of dangerousness for concussions?

My son has had 4 concussions and my husband wants to take him skiing.
I was told there is a scale that rates how dangerous certain sports are and
ranks them. anyone know what this is ? Zaggar?
We agreed with doctor not to do basketball and baseball is iffy.
Help me to stop the risks in skiing?

MomConcerned

[Mark in Idaho]

I have never seen a list like you suggest.

My thought is that all activities needs to be considered with common sense.

Skiing is not inherently risky from a concussion standpoint. The risk with skiing in non-competitive and non-extreme situations come from getting into a collisions with other skiers or more often snow boarders.

I was an early user of ski helmets for just this reason.

Some ski areas and ski runs are more congested and risky than others. His skiing ability and control should be considered.

I learned to ski right after a major issue with concussion problems. I just had to wait until the doctor got my seizures under control.

So, just discuss the factors I mentioned with you husband. With some simple safeguards, you son should be fine. It will be good for them to spend a day on the slopes together.

So, where does he want to take him skiing this late in the season?

[wdl6591]

The danger in skiing (assuming that a helmet is worn) can also be from tumbling type falls and falls where you lose an edge and fall backwards into the slope. I agree with Mark that common sense is the best approach to living with concussion sensitivity.
Contact sports (football, hockey, lacrosse) are always going to worry you and with good reason.
I'm sure you are aware that it's not always the severity of the bump to the head that generates the most problems. Too many of us have received our concussions from normal everyday events that went bad, falls, etc.
I know it's hard when it's your child, but it's also hard to try and raise them in a bubble.

[Mark in Idaho]

wdl6591,

Where do you ski? I haven't skied where losing an edge and falling could be much of a risk in years. The groomers can keep the boilerplate from building up and freezing over. Skiers are so spoiled now days.

I learned to ski on boilerplate ice back in the 1970's. Had to keep edges sharp as razors.

The other risk is tree skiing. I haven't skied the trees since I was a teen. Too much risk.

As a former ski patroler, the risks are low today. Taking simple precautions should be as good as just about any normal low risk activities of a teen.

[wdl6591]

Mark, I live in the east. Skiing on ice and crud is the norm. Unless there's fresh snow, all the cats do is track up the melt, which refreezes overnight., then breaks into pieces during the day. The locals call that skiing the death biscuits. When I come west to ski, it's like being in heaven. I only ski trees out west in the powder. I agree risks are less today, mostly due to better training and equipment. Helmets were unknown when I learned to ski. The parabolics offer so much better control than the straight boards you and I learned on.
wdl

[Mark in Idaho]

I learned to ski in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont and New Hampshire. I've even skied the boiler plate ski capitol in Franconia Notch New Hampshire at a place called Cannon Mtn.

I could see how Maryland could get icy. The snow making in New England resolved a lot of the icy conditions from what my brothers and dad told me. I moved to Calif in 1973.

They got 24 inches at the ski area behind my mountain cabin this past week. Only 169 total inches this season. They usually get 350 to 400.

Snow boarders must have fits in your area.

I am still old school with the long (195 to 205 cm) boards. Shaped skis do not track well except when on an edge. I like to ski the fall line in a vadling style. Very old school. I would need to change my skiing style for shaped skis.

I am so old school I am still skiing on Dr Spademan's bindings. Safest bindings ever made.

Hope you can find some good snow.

[Klaus]

I'm not aware of any such list, though we could have a stab at making one! I think it's right that with some sports it will depend on the context. Skiing sounds dangerous to me but I guess on the occasions when I skiied I was a bit of reckless teenager always trying to do jumps and black runs. If one was to ski in a more mellow way then I guess it would be pretty safe.

The sport I wonder about sometimes that I may or may not be able to do at some point in the future is cricket. I realise a mainly American board is not the best place to ask about this but if anyone has any thoughts I'd be interested to hear them.

I doubt I'd be playing at a high enough level to be hit by a bouncer, so I think I'd be more worried about collisions in the field. My current thinking is that no it's probably not quite risk-free enough but it is something I'd enjoy, that I was good at at school and which is not a 'contact sport' and so might just be ok. I would say it is less risky than baseball.

[PCS Mikey]

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

I am so old school I am still skiing on Dr Spademan's bindings. Safest bindings ever made.

Holy cow Mark, those are old school! I started skiing using those things (grew up skiing in New Mexico - started 1981). I remember spending what seemed hours whacking the built up snow off the bottom of my boot just to make sure it would seat well on the binding.

I would ski places like Taos, Santa Fe, Angel Fire, Durango, Wolf Creek and Telluride up until my wife and I moved to Arizona in 1998. I too was a devotee of the long and straight boards eventually trying adding snowboarding in the 90's. I used to skate pools, ramps and ditches growing up so the transition was easy.

I can attest, however, that it is really easy to go down face first on a snowboard if you try to unweight from the uphill edge to the downhill edge too quickly - say you are just starting to make your turn - and the down hill edge catches first. I put my face into the snow very quickly, and this was after almost 8 years on a snowboard.

Helmet is indeed mandatory but still be very careful, keeping an eye out for those young snowboarders. They tend to suprise you when it's too late.

Mike

[ConcussedJ]

Originally Posted by Mark in Idaho

list of sports and level of dangerousness for concussions?

I've definitely seen lists that tabulate concussion frequency by sport in academic papers. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find any now that I'm looking for them. That said, they're probably more granularity than you need; I think common sense should prevail.

[wdl6591]

There is no good snow in Maryland. There are small bumps close to me in PA. and I've skied a fair amount in NH and CN. Love "Wildcat" in North Conway.

I made the switch to parabolics. They are edge skis and I had to relearn, but they are much better in powder and quicker to turn. I had my K2 205's for years. Much faster than the parabolics and much more exciting down the fall line. It's funny, you never really skied an edge but you always felt like you were on one. (haHa)

Those bindings of yours would probably be welcome at the ski museum. Just joking.
How do keep those exposed springs from losing their tension and elasticity?