Want to keep your family and friends out of Hospital during the next snowboard season? It's simple! Take lessons and wear a helmet.
New research indicates that just a single day's lesson makes all the difference in injury prevention on the hill. Kelly O'Neill, Public Relations Specialist with Blue Mountain Resort says, "Education is the best form of injury prevention. Snowboarding is an exciting and very rewarding sport. However, it is important to learn proper techniques and safety measures in order to enjoy the sport responsibly."
Untrained and poorly equipped snowboarders often show up in the Emergency Department of the G&M Hospital. In 2009, about 600 snowboarders suffered injuries requiring medical attention at the G&M. The startling fact about these injuries is that many were preventable.
Riders often try to teach themselves to snowboard or have friends show them instead of getting proper technique instruction and tips from trained professionals. This is when they can get into trouble and wind up at the ER. Dr. Dave Ohrling, Chief, Emergency Department, at Collingwood General & Marine Hospital says, "People should know that life altering injuries do happen, unfortunately. This includes a severely broken wrist (or in some cases two broken wrists) or a head injury. Our advice is to wear a helmet and take lessons."
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Dr. Dave Ohrling, Chief, G&M's
Emergency Department
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"The importance of getting proper training cannot be overemphasized. At Blue Mountain Resort the safety of our guests is our priority. We lead the industry in a number of safety initiatives such as our Terrain Park Pass Program which educates the terrain park user as to the etiquette and potential risks of using the terrain park. In addition, we encourage guests to be familiar with the Alpine Responsibility Code which is a 10 point guideline to improved on-hill etiquette and safety," says Paul Pinchbeck, Direct of Marketing for Blue Mountain Resort Limited/Intrawest.
When you're just starting out in a new sport, you can expect to fall. Whether your fall results in a trip to the emergency department depends on lots of factors but at least two decisions you take make a big difference in the outcome; wearing a helmet and taking lessons. "New riders sometimes expect snow to be a soft landing surface but a great deal of the time it is quite hard and this often results in injuries to wrists, shoulders and ankles," says Dr. Ohrling.
Source: http://link.reuters.com/quh82m
