This why you should wear a helmet while cycling

ARIZONA, Oct 13 — Urban cycling is a growing trend but not all new cyclists are choosing to wear a helmet on their journeys. A recent American study may help convince the reluctant as it shows that this indispensable accessory can help save lives and prevent head and face injuries.

Researchers from the University of Arizona in Tucson have established a direct link between the use of bicycle helmets and head trauma.

Their study was presented October 8 during the 2015 Clinical Congress of the American College of Surgeons.

The researchers conducted their study by using data from the US 2012 National Trauma Bank, which had collected files from 6,267 patients who had suffered head injuries following bicycle accidents. Amongst them, only a little over 25 per cent wore helmets.

The results show that the small group that did wear head protection presented a 58 per cent reduced odds of suffering from severe head injury and 59 per cent reduced risk of death.

In addition, wearing a helmet reduced by 61 per cent the need for a craniotomy (a neurosurgical operation that consists of removing parts of the skull) and reduced face injuries by 26 per cent.

The researchers also studied the impact of age and gender on bike accidents leading to head injuries. “We tried to see how the pattern of helmet use varied over different age groups,” Dr Ansab Haider said, co-author of the study.
The researchers found that helmet use increased with age and continued to rise with each decade of life, until the age of 70, when the rate again decreased.

The lowest incidence of helmet use was seen in the age group of 10-20 years of age. On average, they also found that females are more likely to wear helmets than males.

The results also indicate that facial fractures were more severe when patients were not protected by a helmet at the time of the accident. According to Dr Haider, helmet use is important to protect the upper part of the face including the eyes and the orbital lobe, but not as effective in preventing lower-face fractures like the jaw or nose.
“Ultimately, the important message is patient care and how we can make our patients safer and more protected,” concluded Dr Bellal Joseph, lead study author.