Katy Winton Missing EWS Madeira to Recover from Concussion

 I am sold, where can I get one

 @chribi Luca Shaw and Claudio's crashes were very different. Luca Shaw was not concussed when he crashed last week (D3 Carbon with MIPS). He knew where he was, knew before during and after the crash, all good. His shoulder was sore in the days following, but he did not think it was serious-he's smart kid.

We have tested 2 versions of helmet impact sensors, they are not all that reliable yet, but we are continuing to try them out.

 many broken collarbones don't need medical attention--just time.

 @stikmanglaspell: I've crashed, gotten straight up, been completely aware of who I am and where I was and then ridden the rest of the day only to be diagnosed with a concussion when I wasn't feeling right the next day, which took a month to fully recover...

Any crash that breaks your helmet should be accompanied by a checkup at the doc imo.

 @SonofBovril: the forces can be larger before failure. a broken helmet isn't the ideal indicator for the necessity of a checkup.

 Ye couldn't agree more @chribi. There were a few solid crashes at the weekend there - Vergier's in particular where he just popped back up and got straight back on the bike. The pressure of world cup points to be saved is obviously a big factor in encouraging a rider to ignore the fact that he/she has taken a knock to the head.

 @SonofBovril: agreed. Shouldn't be up to the rider if they get back on the bike or not. To much pressure, adrenaline and ego to make decisions that could put your life at risk. Pretty impressed with Wintons choice not to ride. Takes more guts than getting back on the bike.

 @stikmanglaspell: You are wrong that "knew where he was, knew before during and after the crash" means "all good" and "not concussed." I had a crash, felt a little bit fuzzy but knew where I was before during and after. Knew the day, knew the president, too. Thought I was okay and did the race. Concussion. Over six months off my bike. Disorientation, like loss of consciousness, is not diagnostic.

You should know better.

 The headline was quoting Katy's own words, but has been adjusted. Concussions are no joke.

 Concussion prevention, oh yeah. That’s a brilliant idea. Like what? Buying a helmet with MIPS? Or maybe not becoming a professional mountain biker?

 @WAKIdesigns: strengthen your neck lad

 @WAKIdesigns: No, just avoiding any dangerous places and situations...like your whole life! Never get outside, always stay on the same floor and make sure you never sit on a chair because you could fall and hit your head. Hell, even a pillow is way to high from the ground, never use one!!!

 @peschman: how does strengthening your neck reduce your chance of concussion?

 Related point: most of us badly misunderstand how recovery from concussion works. When I had my original concussion, I thought, "That sucks, now I need to take a week off. Then I'll be good to go." But your brain healing from concussion is nothing remotely like a bone healing from a break. Doctors can tell you pretty precisely how long it will take your broken arm to heal, but no one knows how long it will take your concussed brain to heal.

And, often, it takes a *lot* longer than the couple days you hope it will take. My original concussion seemed so minor--no loss of consciousness, no disorientation, I thought I was okay and did an enduro right after! But in the end I was off the bike completely for over six months. I would have dealt with that way better if I'd understood it better from the start. Long, slow, setback-filled recoveries from a concussion are more common than most realize.

 @Phillyenduro: You're right on that point. It can take a lot longer than what you think it will. My girlfried hit her head last year when she slipped on an icy road corner. The doctor told her to take a 5 weeks off to heal, then another 4 weeks and finally another 3 weeks. In the end it took her 12 weeks before being able to go back to work.

 @lRaphl: And sponsored athletes like Winton face a whole different level of pressure to come back sooner, of course.

 @trainingfx: Read up on whiplash concussions.

 The big concern even a concussion years later can get magnified from a previous concussion, could be a cliff edge of various mental health issues to face later in life.

 @peschman: the NFL would like to know.

 And make sure it FITS

 Times have changed, around 2010 you would write that in the comment section and you’d be bombarded by many folks saying wearing a helmet on dirt jumps and in the skate park is own preference. Won’t happen here today

 @WAKIdesigns: even 2 years ago

 Genuinely dont understand why bmxers dont wear helmets..

 @zyoungson: for the same reason XCers don’t use dropper posts, Pinkbike Journos won’t use climb switch on rear shocks for a long climb - Too proud for it or to get points for sticking out of the pack

 because they don’t want to. I can’t understand why people rock climb without ropes. You going to be a dick about that as well?

 @thenotoriousmic: he just wants an assurance whether it is ok to call them stupid. Well, it’s a damn stupid thing to do, to ride around concrete without a helmet, no matter how decent are folks who do it. Climbing without a rope though... not the same category, sorry. Stupid and insane are not same things. It is hard to respect an act of stupidity but there’s always some beauty to insanity. Nobody watching a helmetless skateboarder goes, “can he make it? If he does how amazing will that be?”. They rather go “wow, cool, trick” or “wear a helmet you moron”. Nobody says “get a damn rope Alex Honnold”. Being in the middle of the wall of el-Capitan seems insane to most folks, doesn’t matter if Alex is with or without a rope

 @WAKIdesigns: exactly people climb that without a rope yet these pinkbikers lose their minds over a helmet.

 @stikmanglaspell: OMG this not covered enough. You see helmet reviews, comparison, etc.. on sites but that’s never something brought up. A helmet can be considered the new greatest things since sliced bread but it doesn’t fit your head as well as another it’s it the right one no matter what reviews say.

 @thenotoriousmic: Totally different. You know you can only fall off El Capitan once. It ends there. You smack your head plenty of times until one day you end up unable to feed yourself and dribbling down your shirt, because you were too cool to put a helmet on.

Katy has injured her brain while wearing some of the best lids money can buy. She's been smart enough to realise you can't keep doing that indefinitely.

 @JiminOz: yeah there’s absolutely no difference between rock climbing without a rope and riding without a helmet stop trying to push your rules on others. you wouldn’t like it if some dweeb on the internet with an opinion tried to stop you riding in a helmet would you?

 @WAKIdesigns I'm with @thenotoriousmic on this one. It's all about about the amount of risk you personally want to take, whether it is calculated or not, it is personal choice. There are people out there who think I'm crazy for doing the things I do on a regular basis on my bike and snowboard but it is all calculated risk if you ask me...

 @thenotoriousmic: Sounds like you're in the natural selection camp. Good luck to you mate.

 @JiminOz: you too mate

 @millsr4: exactly. I ride in a helmet but who am I to say other have to do the same? And then try and get peoples videos banned because you want the world nerfing to how you see fit?

 @thenotoriousmic: there is a major difference between Alex Honnold and a pro skater or bmxer with or without a helmet. There is a major difference when talking about a BMXer without a helmet on a family party, on pinkbike and in the skate park. Each peer group will have a different opinion on the subject. When it comes to your mates on the street or on DJ site, it doesn’t matter.

It is however undeniable that riding without a helmet around concrete is an act of stupidity, if only for the fact that it is a very little sacrifice to take considering potential consequences. It’s like driving with or without seat belts. Yes there are arguments for driving without seatbelts. Just like arguments for Earth being flat. Many of them are reasonable like: I went to the top of the mountain and haven’t seen any curvature. If you told me that on a bus stop would I be dick to you about it? No. Would I tell my friends by the beer? Yes. If we went together to a dirt jump site and you rode without a helmet, would I be dick to you? No. If I went for a beer with friends? Yes. All things considered, riding without a helmet is stupid, because your little peer group doesn’t matter in the great scheme. On another hand, is avoiding sugar good? Collectively yes. A bunch of fat lads and gals may disagree but well, fk those fatties.

 @WAKIdesigns: what’s the difference? Both have decided not to use safety equipment for whatever reason. Both personal choice. What’s the problem?

 @thenotoriousmic: principles why not to are different. If you mean climb without a rope on a mountain, an actual free solo, then the comparison is missed. If you want to draw a fair comparison between riding without a helmet and climbing without a rope, it would be bouldering without helmet and without a pad under you. Or being stupid enough to climb without a rope on indoor climbing place. That would be a fair comparison. Although it takes much more effort to carry a pad to a bouldering place, than to wear a helmet when skating...

I don't want to write an essay about free soloing... and the fact that it is pretty much always preceeded by hundreds of hours with a rope. At least for people who make it to tell the story.

Quite frankly I see no difference between riding without a helmet on a DH track and in the skatepark. I honestly don't. Exactly same issue with riding DH / BMX with or without knee pads.

 @thenotoriousmic: HAHAHAHA that is one of my biggest issue these days and I'm glad someone else uses that terminology... don't let them Nerf the world! lol!

 @WAKIdesigns: it doesn’t matter if it’s rock climbing, football, golf, Bmx or anything else. It’s all personal choice. If someone wants to jump out of a plane without a parachute and land in a lake or something that’s totally up to them like it’s someones choice to hit a 20 stair handrail without a helmet and unless your turning up to the trails looking like you’re in a bomb disposal suit you don’t have a leg to stand on because you’re probably not as well protected as you could be ether it’s just your comfortable with your level of protection like a Bmxer is with theirs or they’d be wearing a helmet.

 @millsr4: Exactly.

 @thenotoriousmic: You may boil it down to being your own personal preference, you can actually make any argument you want. Just don't expect people not to call you stupid for it. We honestly don't care whether you get offended or not and whether you agree with us. And we will call you stupid, because by pretty much all standards you are doing a stupid thing. It's like a law of physics.

No helmet when riding a bike = stupid

Just saying. Accepting this is easier than stucking a thumb up your arse and expecting tolerance. I honestly don't care whether some kid spills his brain out as long as it is not my kid.

 @WAKIdesigns: All those same standards that you reference also make what you do on these bikes "stupid" to the vast majority of the general public, helmet or not. Just saying...

 @WAKIdesigns: yeah that’s just your opinion like it’s theirs to call someone stupid. I could say that about anything. Why even ride at all if that’s how you think? It’s never going to be 100% safe. Just because your scared of something does mean everyone else is and should be forced or pressured into something just because you’re not comfortable with it.

 @millsr4: Not in my town. Off course it takes a well above average skill to impress general public, but once you get there, they will cheer for you. We always have public around us on the DJ site. Every now and then people come bby and watch us for a while. When the real good folks come and do backflips, tailwhips, 360s, people stay longer and kids go WOOOOOW. If they didn't have helmets... it wouldn't exactly look like that. But they do. Both helmets and pads. According to some standards these dudes are lame. Like Emil Johansson. What a lame dude.

 @WAKIdesigns: nobody cares if you wear a helmet or if you don’t except for the dweebs on pinkbike. Going down the skatepark now someone will wear them and some won’t be and nobody’s going to be talking about helmets I can promise you that.

 @WAKIdesigns: They may have no problem watching you hit the DJ's and I'm sure they admire it to an extent but try asking them to give it a go themselves... even on something small... they WILL call you crazy lol.

Just to be clear I always wear a helmet due to my personal history with head injuries but I still stand by people's right to decide for themselves.

 @thenotoriousmic: I know, I wrote it up there. Some of them will talk crap about folks without helmets in a different social setting though.

@millsr4 - I don’t care if people wear helmets. I am just explaining that people tend to call helmetless riders stupid because there are obvious reasons to think so. Even if not wearing one is only a stupid behavior, and each single person in the world does something stupid, which means not everyone is stupid even if they make stupid decisions.

 @thenotoriousmic: that’s not just my opinion, if you make a poll most people will say that skating or riding a bmx without a helmet is stupid. If it weren’t so, I would not write that.

 @WAKIdesigns: er yes it is. Just an opinion nothing more.

 @thenotoriousmic: Ill just leave this here - skip to 8 minutes to cut the blurb...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcAbiUI14GI

Dude wears gloves but no brain holder? I guess if you have nothing up there worth looking after, it's not worth the effort....

There are millions more like this. Could have saved himself a trip to hospital if he wasn't looking so damn cool bro!

Worth remembering in all this bilge, that brain injuries can still happen with a helmet on - much of the damage is done by the brain hitting the inside of the skull, which you can't do much about. But 9 times out of 10 a helmet takes the beating your skull would have done and reduces swelling that puts pressure on the brain.

Is it worth the effort? Well, if you think your choice not to wear one is more important, then obviously not. The problem with choices is not everybody makes smart ones.

 @JiminOz: Just a FYI, you are completely missing his point and adding nothing to this conversation... We get that wearing a helmet is safer than not and that you can still get injured wearing one. I myself once spent 3 days in an ICU after a head impact with a helmet. All that said, it doesn't change the fact that it is personal choice as to how much risk a person is willing to take and if they don't want to wear a helmet it is none of your concern. Riding a mountain bike in an inherently risky activity so who are you to dictate how much risk one chooses to add to that activity? Anyone that tries to tell me how to have fun on my bike or board can f#ck right off.

 @JiminOz: I’ve already seen this and he got destroyed by the whole bmx community for being an idiot when this came out. He was a meme for about a month. Hardly held up by the bmx community as a beacon of coolness. Still doesn’t change the fact it was his choice and absolutely non of your business.

www.instagram.com/p/BgeP9WWhzht/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1by0wvlzjgh32

 @millsr4: well said.

 @millsr4: No, I totally get it. People are free to choose to make dumb ass choices.

 @thenotoriousmic: I’ll give you another opinion. Earth is round.

 @WAKIdesigns: Wow! That kind of thinking is obviously the result of too many no helmet crashes!

 @JiminOz: there are many sources claiming that helmet isn’t reducing the risk of concussion by a significant margin. There are however many sources claiming that helmet is greatly reducing the risk of skull fracture. One has to be stupid to not get that it is stupid to ride without a helmet. Posers, nothing more. I remember my first contact with skate culture and they were even more nazi about what is cool and what isn’t than football hooligans and metal kids. The whole thing that these kids are chilled out is one big BS. And you can even tell by the music tbey listen to. There’s more freedom and do what you want to do in Death metal than in Punk Rock. And Hip Hop? Is there more egomaniac sort of music? Posers, fricking posers. And the longer the bloke rides, the less progress he makes, the bigger ahole he is. One visit to a skatepark, closer look at the specimes and you can see directly what is going on. Bunch of sour zeros surrounding a stoked skilled dude who is often a happy idiot. Most of them are sucking up to each other, shouting yaaaay! whenever one of them does anything, yet semi-hostile or straight forward hostile to everyone from outside of their scope of interest who steps into their territory. Never ecer experienced that on a DH track during pre-race training, on Dirt Jumps observing beginners getting in the way of big boys, but get into a skatepark with enough betas and you feel like you came inside fencing with angry chimps. The only time I get into skatepark is when there’s mix of skaters, BMXers and kickbikers, and there’s not that many of them so they don’t get territorial against each othwr

Sorry guys not buying your “just live and let die” from street community because I find very little of it there.

 @WAKIdesigns: I'm with you. I grew up in the 70's and 80's when NOBODY even owned a helmet. Unless you were on a motorbike it was bare headed everything. The few helmets that were around were crap anyway. But if you had a helmet, it WAS cool - you were the different guy that could afford the good stuff!
Did a lot of skating and riding with no helmet and saw many people doing the same get some completely avoidable head injuries. Some guys who never fully recovered. But I figured out early in the piece that the best helmet you could afford to buy was definitely better than none. After my first decent moto crash at 17, wearing a crap lid, the first thing I did was buy a Bell Star. It was the best thing around AND it was as cool AF. After that always Arai.
But for bike riding- nothing until I was almost 30. Then I had a snowboard stack and when I opened my eyes the world was green. Sky, snow everything. My vision was like that for about 30 minutes until the colour came back. Since then, head gear all the way. Have seen a few mates split good helmets in two since which has reinforced my decision.
But there will always be guys that want to look cool....

 @JiminOz: Have all those bangs on the head have made it impossible for you to grasp the concept of personal sovereignty?

I don’t think you should be allowed to ride in helmet. I mean if you’re preparing to fail then you shouldn’t be doing it at all. We don’t want you hurting yourself especially seeing your not entirely convinced by your own skills or you wouldn’t need the helmet.

 @thenotoriousmic: Classic mate. You're right, my skills are piss poor and at some stage, I will be crashing. So I choose to protect myself the best way I can. By improving my skills and wearing a helmet.

As I said, you are correct. You are free to choose whatever way fits your invincible approach.

 @JiminOz: I’ll just leave this here...

youtu.be/KRLzvPioKG0

 @thenotoriousmic: Lame by TP's standards. Probably one of the safer things he's done.

His friends however...https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIaFywZ6xtE

 @JiminOz: I think TP sums it up best with "Be careful you don't think too much." At least he didn't attempt the first ever quad no-helmet toddler front flip. That's the limit right there.

 Yeah, exactly, thak you so much Lorraine !
#mybrainmyrules

 right, and each successive knock gets worse too

 Holy f*ck. How many have you had?

 Makes you think. I've banged my head a few times. All manner of stuff could stem from this. Also, does everyone have the same susceptibility? I always thought I was relatively resistant, but is that even possible?

 Head trauma is no fun. But so isn’t a reconstructive knee surgery, stomach cancer, stroke, severe disc hernia. Life can go to sht anytime, enjoy yourself and don’t be a dick/ btch. That’s all you have. Nobody really gives a sht about your values and beliefs. Have fun, enjoy what you have. Even if Redbull spoils your excitement to watch a few Peter Pans roll down a mountain

 @BenPea:
If you have a history of concussions and continue to unfortunately have another, the degree to which the next brain trauma affects you can be exponentially worse than the last and so on. I know from experience. I always recovered from the two or three concussions I had and didn’t think much of it, until the next one. It was a totally different experience and I would describe it as hell. Three years on now, and I feel good enough, but am forever changed. ????????‍♂️

 @jaycyr: Strength to you, man.

 Have you been tested for visual convergence insufficiency? I had a moderate concussion and suffered from headaches, brain exhaustion, and difficulty staring at screens for long periods of time. Turned out I had damaged just the right neurons to make it harder for my brain to see one image instead of two. It is one of the most common semi-permanent concussion-related issues.

Anyways, I was sent to a specialist, given a visual therapy regimen, and was almost completely symptom-free in less than two months.

 Great progress. I have great hopes you'll continue to improve. We're all different, but my story is quite similar. I had a single headache last 11 months after mine. I still have some mild memory problems, but I work around them. It was a horrible and exhausting experience, but I kept fit riding some easy trails from the start and now I'm back to hitting just about anything I want, riding better than ever, enjoying it thoroughly, yet being a bit safer with my decision-making on the trails.

 Thanks for the info on visual convergence insufficiency. I'll definitely look into that.

Also, good to hear that a headache can go away after lasting 11 months! Fingers crossed that'll be me. It's almost 11 months now. ;-)

 thank you. just like skiing, etc. it's way underestimated by the general public and even more advanced athletes. those activities are able to destroy your life in a second. let's never take our current situation for granted. wear your pads and enjoy the F out of these amazing sports.

 Concussion hit me really hard

 People probably crash more in the EWS because they don’t know the course as well, have bike that are less forgiving on gnarly stuff, are tired from transitions, and ride more over a weekend.

 Perhaps it’s the length of time enduro racers spend riding at full speed on unfamiliar tracks. To me that seems sketchier than pre-walking and repeatedly practicing a single, short track.

 In the EWS they also spend more time on a bike over a weekend racing DH. The risk might not be greater but the EWS racer is exposed to the risk longer.

 Dunno but there are a lot more riders entered per event, which may factor in the odds.

 Did they not find with boxing that dehydration plays a big part in the severity of a concussion? I imagine dehydration will be fairly common in EWS.

 Honest question, are proper dh lids actually better against concussions?

 Many enduro full-face helmets are DH certified. The question is, are those certifications truly legit or is it just to get a sign-off. To know that would need a precise investigation in some data form helmet testing

 @pioterski: Are you calling into question the standards, or the testing to the standard? The testing is probably legit, but whether the standard provides "enough" protection against injury is a much harder question to answer.