This last reason is based on the belief that the added weight of a helmet might increase torque on the
cervical spine.
The risk to the cervical spine is addressed in this study. Over the years there have been a variety of
studies on helmet use and CSI in motorcycle crashes, with a couple of reports indicating an
increased risk of CSI among helmeted riders and most studies finding no protective effect or harmful
biomechanical risk to the cervical spine.
Co-author Paul S. Page and colleagues hypothesised that helmet use is not associated with an
increased risk of CSI during a motorcycle crash and instead may provide some protection to the
wearer.
The researchers reviewed the charts of 1061 patients who had been injured in motorcycle crashes
and treated at a single Level 1 trauma center in Wisconsin between January 1, 2010, and January 1,
2015.
Of those patient, 323 (30.4 percent) were wearing helmets at the time of the crash and 738 (69.6
percent) were not. Notably, Wisconsin law does not require all riders to wear a helmet.
At least one CSI was sustained by 7.4 percent of the riders wearing a helmet and 15.4 percent of
those not wearing one; this difference in percentages is statically significant (p=0.001). Cervical
spine fractures occurred more often in patients who were not wearing helmets (10.8 percent
compared to 4.6 percent; p=0.001), as did ligament injuries (1.9 percent compared with 0.3 percent;
p=0.04); again these differences are statistically significant.
There were no significant differences between groups (helmeted vs un-helmeted riders) with respect
to other types of cervical spine injuries that were sustained: nerve root injury, cervical strain, or cord
contusion.
In summary, Page and colleagues showed that helmet use is associated with a significantly reduced
likelihood of sustaining a CSI during a motorcycle crash, particularly fractures of the cervical
vertebrae. Although the study population is small, the authors believed the results provide additional
evidence in support of wearing helmets to prevent severe injury in motorcycle crashes. When asked
about the findings, Dr. Nathaniel P.Brooks, co-author, stated, "Our study suggests that wearing a
motorcycle helmet is a reasonable way to limit the risk of injury to the cervical spine in a motorcycle
crash."
- These findings from the study are published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine.