#HelmetSelfie Project

Even though football is now officially over until the fall, there are recreational and sports activities all year long that can be safer by wearing a helmet. During the winter months, it’s important to wear helmets while skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling.

Did you know head and face injuries can be reduced by nearly 50 percent if you wear a helmet?

In December, the Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma (@injuredkids) launched the #HelmetSelfie project to encourage kids and adults to wear their helmets during sports and recreation activities. Richard Childress Racing (RCR) drivers and other sports figures supported the campaign by posting photos of themselves wearing helmets to encourage helmet use.

Each year, U.S. emergency departments treat an estimated 173,285 sports- and recreation-related traumatic brain injuries, including concussions, among children and adolescents from birth to 19 years old, which equals almost 20 injured children every hour.^* A concussion is a brain injury and all are serious, with most concussions occurring without loss of consciousness. Proper use of helmets and recognition of head injuries can prevent injury or even death.

On December 2, we hosted a Twitter chat at #HelmetSelfie to discuss prevention and treatment options to reduce head injuries in kids. Here is the impact from the chat, courtesy of Symplur:

Chat topics:

• Latest research about children’s head injuries
• Education about how to protect kids from head injuries during recreation and sports
• Advocacy suggestions for parents/families, athletes, trainers, physicians and coaches
• Signs and symptoms of a possible concussion
• Treatment options

Chat experts:

• Dr. Valerie Maholmes, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)
• Drs. Kristy Arbogast and Mark Zonfrillo, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Center for Injury Research and Prevention
• Buddy Curry, Former NFL player; Kids and Pros Football Experience, co-founder
• Ashley Donahue, Certified athletic trainer
• Dr. Gerry Gioia, Children’s National Medical Center, Division Chief & Professor of Pediatric Neuropsychology
• Soren Johnson, Wake Forest Baptist Health and bike safety advocate
• Dr. J. Wayne Meredith, Childress Institute for Pediatric Trauma/Wake Forest Baptist
• Dr. Jason Mihalik, Matthew Gfeller Sport-Related Traumatic Brain Injury Research Center
• Dr. Alex Powers, Wake Forest Baptist Health, Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery
• Judy Pulice, National Athletic Trainers’ Association
• Dr. Rick Rauck, biking advocate
• Joel Stitzel, Virginia Tech-Wake Forest University Center for Injury Biomechanics
• RCR drivers and teams

Ways to get involved:

• Click around on our site to learn more about the signs of concussions in kids, and other serious injuries to children
• Tell your friends! Find us on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
• Post your #HelmetSelfie throughout the year to show you support helmet use
• Help prevent head injuries in kids – donate $10 and buy a helmet for a kid

Thanks for your support!

*The numbers provided are according to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.