Boomers and ski helmets

Findings of a survey conducted by members of the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA) last season, showed that the use of ski helmets is up in most age categories, especially among children and people over 65. The most resistant group is the so-called “middle-aged” skiers and riders. Is it vanity? Is it that peculiar sense of immortality we humans cultivate? Is it that until you have a ‘close call” you just don’t feel a helmet is necessary? Does it interfere with the thrill of skiing or snowboarding? Please leave a comment if you have some thoughts on this or if you are one of the “resistant” ones.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates that nearly 8,000 head injuries a year could be prevented with helmet use. The NSAA findings suggest, however, that helmet use does increase with skill level. Over half of advanced skiers and riders wear helmets regularly. This season Vail Resorts has made helmet use compulsory for ski-area employees. Most resorts require helmet use for children taking ski lessons. And internationally, Austria leads the way with a mandatory helmet requirement for children under the age of 15.

Millions of people suffer closed head injuries every day. Many of these injuries are mild, resulting in minor and temporary symptoms, such as headache or dizziness. In these cases, the symptoms pass and there are seemingly no lasting effects. Concussion is the most common form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), where the brain is “shaken.” Some concussions create long-term injury. Knowing signs for severe brain trauma is critical to stop further brain damage. Signs of serious injury include, but are not limited to, confusion, drowsiness, changes in size of pupils, lack of coordination, slurred speech, changes to vision or other senses, and sometimes convulsions. Immediate treatment is recommended when any of these symptoms are present.

Head injuries account for ten to twenty percent of all snow sports related injuries according to some sources. Statistics vary widely internationally and cause some to make the case that the numbers of head injuries and deaths related to snow sports are small enough to challenge mandatory helmet use.

The National Football League has come under scrutiny recently regarding its previous policies regarding head injuries and its penchant for keeping mum on concussions and their effects on players over the years. The much-publicized new guidelines are keeping some players on the sidelines now.

If you have suffered a TBI, however, you know it can have lasting effects, memory loss and confusion among them. Read more about brain fitness strategies for combating the effects of mild TBI and do not miss this post about algae as brain food.

Check out my articles on adaptive skiing and snowboarding at Examiner.com.

Fountain of Youth?

Time magazine published an article this spring (3/23/09) titled, "10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now." There were the usual references to "green" initiatives and technological advances. And then came #5, "Amortality." Author Catherine Mayer coined the phrase as she wrote about how aging Boomers are changing the paradigm of growing older. She notes that the number of cosmetic surgeons in this country, for example, has tripled since 2003. Here's how Ms. Mayer describes her newly minted term. Amortality is more than this ripple effect of aging Boomers' resistance. "Amortality is a stranger, stronger alchemy, created by the intersection of that trend with a massive increase in life expectancy and a deep decline in the influence of organized religion - all viewed through the blue haze of Viagra." Her tongue-in-cheek remarks give way to serious paragraphs revealing this "trend" driven not only by dreading the aging process, but outright denying it through physical interventions, including surgery, and scientific explorations going beyond the temptations of cryogenics into "radical life-extending and life-enhancing technologies." These potentially life-shifting perspectives and discoveries challenge the common wisdom that "aging is a natural thing that is going on independently of disease." Dr. Aubrey deGrey, a Cambridge university gerontologist quoted in this article calls this so-called everyday knowledge "nonsense." His research is focused on stopping aging altogether.

"Amortality" is a boon to the economy, Ms. Mayer argues, touching every arena from music to clothing, to vacations to drugs (note how much Viagra and Cialis have become household words), to gadgets and foods. So, what does this trend really mean for those of us who may be more accepting, shall we say, of the fact that aging is a part of life. Surely the boundaries of aging have expanded over the years. And the recent film, "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," turns the framework upside down with the worst effects of old age appearing right at the beginning of life bringing this boy man into ever-strengthening youth, ending finally when he becomes a tiny baby again.

As I work with individuals and families every day facing the challenges of aging, I see the insistence on independence and creating quality of life, the willingness to push and pull and do what it takes to stay alive and able to make decisions about how to live life as fully as possible. Don't only think replacement hips, knees, and Lasik surgery. Consider the proliferation and accessibility of products to make home safe and manageable, stairlifts, easy-to-access tubs, and power vehicles.

So maybe the word "amortality" is a new one, but this so-called "trend" of extending life and living it to the fullest is in fact as old as the hills, or at least as old as Plato, who wrote first about "aging backwards." Ms. Mayer concludes that if this trend does not sound so revolutionary, "it's only beause amortality has already revolutionized our attitudes toward age."

What are your thoughts about "amortality?" What are your tips for living fully and endlessly? What else changes when we think about ourselves as "amortal?" Share your ideas in a post or email me.