Pole Vaulting Helmets

[mdavis2685]

hearing stories like that are always sad to hear and i dont know how it works in other states, but there should always be padding around the mat where it be pole vault or high jump you cant hold that event if there is not, thats how it works in New Jersey

[~jj~]

In fact, missing the high jump pad is a fairly common accidnet. I have several of these types of accidents in my file. Right here at Atascadero, Ca, we had a Jr HS kid miss the landing pad a few years ago in gymn class. He sufferd a sever head injury, but survived. This type of accident seems to happen on a small landing systems, when the athlete takes off near the center of the cross-bar, instead of near the standard. They seem to hit head and shoulders off the back edge or the side of the padding.
The National HS Federation rules say the HJ landing system should have padding on all hard surfaces which surround it, same as the pole vault.
I don't think helmets are the answer in the HJ.

~jan~

[Bruce Caldwell]

In fact, missing the high jump pad is a fairly common accidnet. I have several of these types of accidents in my file. Right here at Atascadero, Ca, we had a Jr HS kid miss the landing pad a few years ago in gymn class. He sufferd a sever head injury, but survived. This type of accident seems to happen on a small landing systems, when the athlete takes off near the center of the cross-bar, instead of near the standard. They seem to hit head and shoulders off the back edge or the side of the padding.
The National HS Federation rules say the HJ landing system should have padding on all hard surfaces which surround it, same as the pole vault.
I don't think helmets are the answer in the HJ.

~jan~

I agree with JJ More education , more camps, more clinics, and as JJ says more padding will be the answer to this problem.

[~jj~]

We have not had a catastropic injury in the two years since we brought in the new landing pads and started coaches certification. I frankly see no current reason to mandate helmets at the present time.
~jan~

[Bruce Caldwell]

The first pole vaulting helmet has been introduced to the market.

http://www.polevaulthelmet.com/

What do you think?

MY opinion

The back of the helmet and the ponytail Channel is not high enough to prevent the neck from getting injured. I see pressure in this area more so than a ultra light helmet that we have looked at which is open in the back of the neck area.

While the helmet will protect the athlete for various injuries we face each day, it looks like to me it could also open up a variety of injuries we are not facing.
Will it protect you and your neck from breaking if you are falling over 16'?

That is how high the head is on a 13'8" vault.

If you pad your hard and unyielding surfaces, buy a regulation size system, and provide education with a certified coach present at all times you may not need to suggest a helmet!
I have no problems with allowing the helmet for the Pole vault, however I am appose to a company or organization pushing for a mandate in the schools.

IT IS A PERSONAL THINGY
A helmet is a personal thingy and should be allowed to be used, mandating the helmet in your state will make the state association liable for any injuries attributed to the use of.

We all know the guys have to use a (jock) athletic supporter for protection, I have yet to see a state association make them mandatory.

[das_1971]

I think advancing saftey in track is great, however what bugs me is that I failed to find any disclaimers on the sight(allbeit i looked quickly) that stated a helmet cannot protect someone from broken or improper equipment such as poles and pits, or something about requiring proper training, something like you see labeled on all poles made now.

The worst thing i could think would be a HS athletic director or coach buying $500 in helmets instead of reairing pits and runways, or getting a proper pole selection...

[das_1971]

...but on another point, this is an Execelent idea for anyone who has had a head injury.

[Spencer Chang, MD]

Helmets should be optional. Yes, they may help from a fall onto a hard surface and prevent a severe closed head injury.

I agree with JJ that the most important solution was our increasing the size of the pits, and protecting the surrounding areas.

I think a soft box is a great solution, albeit expensive. But a nice box collar and appropriate pit that fits up against the box area without impeding the pole should suffice.

What most people don't understand is that not only can you can an injury from impact, but also torque, and shear forces. Case in point: the pit is made to absorb the impact of the vaulter's landing. However, if you land feet first while rotating, the pit will act to plant your limb and if the rest of your body is moving will cause severe torsional forces. Example, at the Olympics this year one Russian vaulter landed feet first into the pit while turning. She broke her ankle.

Everyone must remember that the landing of a vaulter can involve significant rotation. If you land head first into the pit, the pit will plant your head while the rest of the body will rotate around it. If the torque is too great, which it can be falling from a high height (ask Dean Starkey), you can injure your neck.

Yes, this can happen with or without a helmet. However, a helmet may increase the leverage on your head, thereby increasing the torque and possible hyperflexion or hyperextension on your neck.

What's the big deal about hyperflexion or hyperextension? Most youngsters can probably tolerate quite a bit of hyperflexion or hyperextension. However, some will have a congenitally narrowed spinal canal, and as we get older, because of degenerative changes our spinal canal becomes narrower. With severe hyperflexion or hyperextension, the canal can become acutely narrowed (the pincer affect) and can put severe pressure on the spinal cord. This can lead to cord swelling, and either transient or permanent damage to the spinal cord. All of this can happen without any fractures or dislocations. You do not need to have a broken neck to have a severe spinal injury or paralysis.

Moreover, with the axial loading and increased flexion on such an impact, this can cause a disk herniation which can also cause damage to the spinal cord or nerve roots.

We did a study on bodysurfers who landed on their head on the ocean bottom with rotation forces, similar to how a vaulter could land. Many were older (mid forties), and many had no fractures or dislocations but sustained severe spinal cord injuries including paralysis.

I took x-rays of c-spines with and without a Protec helmet. It levered the neck an average of 11 degrees. I understand that the new helmet in order to accommodate ponytails has an even greater thickness and will therefore lever the neck an even greater amount. Eleven degrees might not seem like much, but it might be all that is needed to cause an injury in a neck that has already achieved maximum flexion or extension.

I did a study at the 2003 Mt. Sac Relays looking at over 700 vaults. None resulted in a catastrophic landing or landing that could result in a closed head injury. The pit at Mt. Sac is obviously huge.

However, although no landings were directly on the head or neck, nearly 10% of the time vaulters rolled over onto their head and neck after landing. You must remember that the pit deflects at landing like a "V". Therefore, even without a helmet, the pit alone can increase neck flexion. With a normal landing on one's back, the neck will flex to some degree. I believe that as long as the vaulter does not land directly on his/her head or neck, probably even with a helmet there shouldn't be any problems with neck injury. However, with the rare occurrence of a head or neck landing in the pit as Dean had, the possibility of neck injury is real, and I think can be made worse with a helmet.

In one of my studies, there was a collegiate vaulter who overrotated and landed on her head and neck in the pit, whipping over her body and legs, causing a hyperflexion neck injury. She had transient numbness in her extremities for hours. Fortunately, this resolved.

Do we see much head injuries in gymnastics? The answer is no because they do gymnastics over padded areas and not over concrete. Do we see much neck injuries in gymnastics? The answer is yes because gymnasts like vaulters are in a sport where they may overrotate and land on their head or neck. Do you see gymnasts using helmets? The answer is no, especially because it may increase the risk of neck injuries. This also goes for cheerleaders and trampoline users.

So why do bikers, football players, hockey players, skaters use helmets? The answer is that they are more likely to sustain a blow to the head whether it be the ground (skaters and bikers don't have padded surfaces), a wall (hockey), or another player.

In summary, I don't believe the helmet is the answer to prevent head injury in the pole vault. I don't have a problem with vaulters using a helmet as long as they know the pros and cons. I don't believe that using a helmet will affect the vaulter's performance. Toby Stevenson is a 6 m vaulter using a helmet. The helmet definitely should not be mandated as we may see other injuries as a result of it. I wouldn't recommend a helmet for the vaulter who consistenly lands up high on his/her head, neck, and shoulders. However, for the vaulter who lands shallow, either he/she needs to get a better coach or a helmet might not be a bad idea. Otherwise, as long as we follow our pit rules and padding regulations, I believe we will be ok. But, the biggest deal is education about proper vaulting, and if anything needs to be mandated, it is this. Nice job Washington!

Aloha,

Spencer Chang, MD
Orthopaedic Surgeon
Fellowship Trained in Sports Medicine

888 South King Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

[vaultmd]

Nice post. Should be required reading.

[Russ]

Spencer,

I very much appreciate your post.

It seems essential to me that our rules should not mandate helmets if, in an effort to save on-in-a million, we wind up seriously injuring an appreciable number of vaulters. That simply doesn't make sense. Reasonable decisions are reached by balancing pros and cons, not just imposing our will based on knee jerk reactions.

If you are right about the increased probability of serious spinal injury caused by hyperflexion, then a mandatory helmet rule could have the effect of injuring thousands of vaulters (perhaps paralysis for some) on the one hand (con), while perhaps saving the life of one vaulter (pro), on the other hand. We need to weigh the potential benefits and detriments against the likelihood and magnitude of potential injuries.

Clearly, we must research this issue in order to make a rational decison based on empirical data.

[mikepv1]

Yesterday, I came down on the crossbar and one side snapped up and hit me in the ear. It felt like I was hit in the side of the head with a baseball bat. Luckily, my hearing wasn't damaged, but this was (and currently is) a very painful experience. My ear is still swollen and throbbing. Had the bar hit me just two inches farther forward on my temple, I wouldn't be typing this post right now. However, had I been wearing a helmet, the bar would have hit the edge of the helmet rather than snapping into my ear at over a hundred miled per hour. More importantly, if I had worn a helmet, there would have been no danger of the bar hitting me in the temple.

What most of the posts in this thread disappointingly fail to consider is that, in this sport, there are more ways to injure your head than just by landing on it.

I am not an inexperienced vaulter who doesn't know what he is doing. I have been studying and competing in this sport for several years now. Yet, there was still no way I could have anticipated what the bar did. I can still hear the pop in my left hear, feel the sharp, sudden, sickening pain, and see the brief white flash every time I think about it. Needless to say, I am looking into getting a KDMax helmet.

[CHC04Vault]

There was an article about how young vaulters get a false sense of security when they wear helmets last year. I agree that sound form is the best way to go. Not to mention, helmets don't provide protection for neck injuries, as with any helmet. Maybe we should be pushin for soft boxes???