From the Washington Post:
“Don’t forget to wear your helmet,” parents tell their kids now that warmer temperatures are luring them outside to cycle, skateboard, rock climb, kayak and ride horses. And with good reason. “Helmets basically keep your skull from cracking,” says pediatric neuropsychologist Gerard Gioia, director of the Safe Concussion Outcome, Recovery and Education Program at Children’s National Medical Center.
Can’t one all-purpose helmet suffice?
In a word, no, say medical experts. That’s because different sports subject the body to different forces from different directions — and sport-specific helmets are designed accordingly.
“If you think about riding a bicycle, people tend to fall off front first, so they are more at risk for the front of their head hitting the ground, or a wall, because they are moving forward,” Gioia says. A bike helmet has frontal protection to guard against this.
“But then you have kids that are on skateboards, and the more typical thing for a skateboard is the skateboard zipping out, and you fall backwards and hit the back of your head.” Skateboard helmets typically cover more of the skull and the back of the neck than bike helmets.
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