A survey conducted by consumer survey firm Nielsen and commissioned by Mips, the Swedish helmet safety technology company, has found that a wide gap exists between Americans’ and Germans’ knowledge of concussions and how to reduce the risk of concussions through helmet use. Nielsen surveyed a representative sample of 1,000 Americans and 1,000 Germans, evenly divided between men and women aged 18 to 65. All respondents had either purchased a helmet in the past three years or planned to buy a helmet in the next six months for one of the following uses: Cycling, climbing, horseback riding, motorcycling, skiing, snowboarding, team sports or safety equipment.
Among the survey’s key findings is that about 70 percent of U.S. and German helmet buyers are unfamiliar with the term “rotational motion.” The lack of understanding of rotational motion, a leading cause of traumatic brain injuries (TBI), appears to correlate with the purchasing decisions of Americans and Germans: 7 in 10 American helmet buyers and 6 in 10 German helmet buyers did not consider at all how well the helmet can protect against rotational motion when purchasing a helmet.
Rotational motion is a common cause of concussions and more severe brain injuries from oblique blows to the head. In most cases, if you fall while moving and hit your head, you do not hit the ground at a straight 90-degree angle. Instead, you often fall and hit your head at an angle, much like a tennis ball hits the ground after being hit by a racket. When the head hits at an angle, it is usually subjected to a twisting motion, which studies have shown can be more dangerous than a linear motion.
Pioneering studies from the mid-20th century have shown that rotational motion is a key component of some traumatic brain injuries, such as concussions and diffuse axonal injuries. Rotational motion causes shearing of brain tissue, possibly leading to traumatic brain injury. More recent investigations have confirmed the prevalence of rotational motion in diffuse traumatic brain injury following these seminal studies. Despite these findings, today, only two helmet testing standards address rotational motion (FIM and ECE22.06), both of which apply only to motorcycle helmets in the EU.
“Around the world, TBIs are often poorly understood,” said Peter Halldin, co-founder of Mips. “Improving safety and helping increase education around TBIs - there is nothing more important to us than that. Think of a parent, for example, when buying a helmet for their child or buying a helmet for yourself or a loved one. If people aren’t equipped with relevant information, how can they make informed decisions?”
