Taking care of your melon
No, we’re not talking about fruit. Nor are we talking about that grab on a snowboard that looks pretty darn good when tweaked just so. We are talking about your head, and I think we could all agree that it’s more important than stylish grabs and tasty fruits. In the sports of skiing and snowboarding, concussions are commonplace and often not given the respect they deserve.
Now we don’t have to have the send-o-metre cranked to 11 to concuss ourselves; I personally have concussed myself just by catching an edge on a cat track while moving fairly slowly. But too often we brush ourselves off and try to continue on with the day, and the experts are saying that that may not be our best play.
Close, but not quite there.Our best line of defense is wearing a helmet, but we are still susceptible to be concussed even with a helmet on. If we can’t avoid a concussion, the next best move is to manage the injury appropriately. This article written by Dr. Jaqui Berg touches on prevention, recognition, and management of concussions, and is well worth a read. While I've attempted to make this article light-hearted, concussions are no joke; they are a brain injury, let us all treat them as such.