Motorcycle helmets can protect your head and what’s inside it -- that’s a no-brainer. But did you realize that wearing a motorcycle helmet can protect much more than just your gray matter? A recently conducted study revealed that wearing a helmet also reduces the occurrence of cervical spine injuries. The study was conducted at the prestigious Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where a team of researchers studied records of motorcycle accident collisions occurring between the years 2002 and 2006. After studying piles of the collected data, the researchers found motorcyclists who wore helmets were significantly less at risk to suffer from a cervical spine injury in an accident. The study concluded that there was 22 percent less risk of cervical spine injury in comparison to those not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash.
This study has had groundbreaking effects on the medical community as well as the general public. A commonly held misconception was that motorcycle helmets actually increase the risk of cervical spine injury, one of the more popular beliefs among helmet critics. This fallacy has prompted some riders to shun helmets, but the old studies that prompted this belief did not take into account the advances in helmet design and construction. Modern motorcycle helmets are lighter and more ergonomically designed than ever before.
Unfortunately, cervical spine injuries are very common results of motorcycle accidents. These injuries can cause serious damages to the spinal cord that can ultimately end in partial or total paralysis -- even death. The Johns Hopkins study revealed that of all of the injuries accident victims suffered, cervical spine injuries were not only the most common, but also the most serious and most frequently fatal of all the conditions. These injuries are especially serious, considering that most cervical spine injuries require painful, expensive surgical treatments if they are even capable of being corrected at all.
The simple fact is that motorcycle helmets help save lives, prevent cervical spine injuries, prevent brain injuries and ensure overall protection while riding. It is hard to conceive why anyone who values his or her brain would ride without a helmet.
