An estimated 50,000 kids go to the emergency room for skateboard related injuries every year. Two neurosurgeons in Central Texas say those numbers and the severity of skateboarding injuries are increasing.
Wednesday afternoon about a dozen Anderson High School students gathered around a memorial they had created to remember their friend, 16-year-old Heath Eiland. Eiland lost his life after falling 25 feet while skateboarding Tuesday afternoon. He was not wearing a helmet.
"If he was here, he would like us to celebrate his life and not mourn him," said Tyler Marett, one of Eiland's best friends. "He'd want us to tell others that maybe wearing a helmet is a good idea."
"Almost 50 percent of skateboarding injuries have at least some component of head injuries to them," said Dr. Michael Webb, the Executive Director of the NeuroTexas Institute at St. David's HealthCare.
Webb says the number and severity of skateboarding accidents are increasing. In 2007, the U.S. Consumer product safety commission reported skateboarding resulted in nearly 12,000 head injuries among children 14 and younger. Only cycling, football, baseball and softball accounted for more. Webb says as the technology improves and the sport continues to evolve, skateboarders are taking bigger risks.
"The heights have become higher," said Webb. "The speeds have become faster and as a result of that the injuries are greater and more severe."
Both Webb and Dr. Alex Valadka, the Chief of Neurotrauma at the Seton Brain & Spine Institute say helmets can not eliminate all serious brain injuries, but can certainly prevent many.
"Spend this weekend in the ER here and you'll see a lot of guys are going to come in here wearing a helmet," said Valadka. "Their main injuries are scrapes on their arms and legs and things like that. The ones who come in without a helmet may have a lot more serious issues and may spend a lot more time in the hospital."
Unlike cycling, there are no laws against riding a skateboard without a helmet.
