The hidden reason Olympic sledding is so dangerous
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- čas přidán 10. 02. 2022
- “Sled head” is about more than just crashes.
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In recent years, the sliding community - made up of skeleton, bobsleigh, and luge athletes - has experienced a spate of brain injury-related tragedy. At first glance, the reason why seems obvious: Sleds regularly reach speeds that top 90 miles per hour, and crashes are unfortunately very common.
But there is growing research that shows it might be the act of sledding itself that is the main driver of brain injury. With every run, athletes are exposed to immense force and vibration, causing micro-concussions that can ultimately add up to major damage. Those concussions are mild enough that they can go undiagnosed. But among sledding athletes the symptoms that indicate a micro-concussion - headaches, dizziness, etc. - are so common they have a special nickname, “sled head.”
There’s a lot science still doesn’t know about sled head and the brain in general. But from what we can tell, it’s pretty clear that sliding sports put the brain health of athletes at risk.
Further reading:
When researching this piece, I spoke with the German skeleton team’s coach, Mark Wood. He’s working with Christina and Peter to push for research and regulation that might protect sliding athletes in the future. He wrote a great essay sharing his perspective on the sport and its dangers here: / head-first-safe-the-sp...
Peter, Christina, Mark and neuropsychologist Aliyah Snyder are currently developing a survey surrounding sliding athlete's concussion and injury histories. It's not yet available, but if you’re a current or former sliding athlete looking to find out more, email asnyder@mednet.UCLA.edu
For a review of the literature on sled head see: www.frontiersin.org/articles/...
Matthew Futterman at the New York Times is one of the only reporters writing extensively on sled head. Check out his work to learn more:
www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/sp...
www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/sp...
www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/sp...
www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/sp...
Christina Smith has a book coming out about her experiences recovering from a brain injury, you can preorder it here: authorchristinasmith.com/
This is the fifth and last of our themed videos for winter sports week at Vox! The first three videos were about ski jump, speed skating, and women's Olympic monobob. Check out the playlist here: bit.ly/3oESqgx
The fourth video highlights a ski lodge trapped in a border dispute on the Alps. Watch here: • The Italy-Switzerland ...
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Preliminary research on the q-collar, conducted on high school athletes, indicates it can go a long way in mitigating the damage of repeated brain injuries.
If you’re interested in learning more, check out: www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-authorizes-marketing-novel-device-help-protect-athletes-brains-during-head-impacts
Thanks for watching. -Marie
,,
These sports should simply be removed from the winter Olympics. No helmet will fix this damage. Or at the least all these sled athletes need to be educated on sled head before they get into the sport
@Angie S hey there, I wrote a reply to a comment about “sled head” concussion syndrome that you replied to also. Read if you’re interested.
boxers mma football player know full well what the damage is and the risks and the conclusions. The athlete in the video said "I never got a concussion so I never knew all this could happen" and she was the best of the best. Had the best doctors and so on. And she didn't know. the issue is educated decisions based on actual risks don't exist in this sport. Because tbey think well the risk is crashing leading to concussion or injury to limbs. When as this video creator showed is the vibrations. living our life doesn't cause the vibrations this sport does. I never reply to comments to avoid trolls. But I am sorry you are not actually discussion or listening to facts. You are debating against your own self and your own thouhts and beleifs instead of this video and my comment. I won't reply anymore. Watch the will Smith football movie and you will see what happens when the risks of sport are hidden from athletes
Oh okay, got it. Maybe I misunderstood, thanks!
I did a run down a bobsled on wheels in Whistler and it was the most jarring experience of my life. The throbbing headache lasted all day just from one run. This stuff is the real deal, coming from someone who has had concussions before.
I was in whistler and stayed in the presidential suite. It rocked.
ouch... wondering was that helmet even helped at all
@@ilhamrj2599 The helmet might not stop concussions but it will stop your skull from being cracked in half
@@ilhamrj2599 Helmets don't protect you from concussions directly. Concussion is the injury to your brain being rocked about on the INSIDE of your skull. Helmets provides you protection from external injuries, i.e. getting hit on the OUTISDE of your skull. That's why concussions are dangerous, because there's not a lot you can do to protect yourself in the process, except not taking part in the activity.
@@soulawaken24 i mean, partly both. The helmet provides additional cushioning and spreads out the impact over a larger area, so on the one hand it reduces risk of concussion and on the other hand risk of skull breaking
I still remember Nodar Kumaritashvili's death during his last practice hours before the opening ceremony in 2010. Even his teammate chose to withdraw to attend the funeral. One of those sad and tragic moments at sports.
His nephew Saba was 9 when this happened. Saba qualified and just competed at the Beijing Olympics in honour of his uncle.
I remember that incident so vividly. The video was brutal
As a breakdancer who has been noticing memory loss, this is eye opening and I'm wondering if this research has any implications on other lesser known sports.
I would say anything that applies to brain injury in other sports potentially also applies to you.
I'd love to learn please teach me I'll pay lol
@@jponz85 I'll get back to you once I learn how to protect my brain lol
@@Tomluke5823 unnecessary
I was a stagehand for 10 years, and the number of times I’ve hit my head on a 2” steel pipe that flew in behind me is uncountable. I’d usually brush it off with a passive comment like ‘eh, I’ve been hit in the head by worse’ and continue working. I’m only 26, but I’m already noticing that I’m having trouble staying focused, and this video gave me a worrying look at the future
I remember listening to a podcast how the American football players frequently retire and find long lasting brain damage troubling their lives and there's lots of money from the industry thrown at silencing people who want to bring attention to this issue. I can imagine micro concussion is even more of an issue which gets even less press. Thanks for raising people's awareness.
the disorder is called CTE - chronic traumatic encephalopathy
Just like opioid.
People will forget the next day.
Not sure what you were watching but the silencing aspect is far less true today. It is talked about a great deal, there are new protocols in the game, and a lot of discussion around the age kids should be able to start playing tackle, etc. I would not be surprised though if the medical community basically says that this doesn't make it safe and if that is being suppressed.
Maybe brain damage may explain why some well paid athletes go broke and are homeless soon after retirement. Look at Iron Mike Webster. A great guy with 18 years in the NFL yet in less than 10 years after playing he was a broken man physically, mentally and financially. Now sledding too? We’re in an enlightenment. Thank goodness.
@@DonaldDump2024 👍
I was literally thinking about this watching how many luge athletes fell yesterday. Thanks for the timely Winter Olympics videos, Vox!
This sport is really cool. Maybe we can make it like VR thing.
A friend of mine has to switch careers from doing building restoration because the constant use of jackhammers had given him vibration injuries to his hands and lower arms. If it's that serious in your hands, imagine it happening to your brain.
Happens to loggers, too. And groundskeepers. And mechanics
my grandad had this happen to him too he still shakes a lot
Fun fact: loud noise, especially consistent, loud noise, kills braincells
Bus/Truck drivers can get unsafe levels of vibrations too if the bus is too old and/or not properly mantained. There's labor regulation against it in some places.
Just a suggestion....Sledding(in any form) should look to Formula 1 auto racing for the inspiration to make the sport safer. The leaps and bounds inherent to F1 safety are primary to any race and could be brought over to sledding e.g. HANS System, Halo, and even a five/six point restraint along with some form of suspension, just look at mountain biking; in particular Downhill Mountain Biking(front and rear suspension) along with advancements in smart Lycra race outfits, again just my observations in these athletic sports. (and yes F1 racing is a true sport with all the parameters of being an Athlete(just research their physical and mental training)....🤖
I was thinking the same adding a suspension shouldnt be that difficult and would massively reduce the vibrations
@@affectedrl5327
That would however raise the centre of gravity and make the sled less predictable, therefore reducing the ability to control the sled. Something like a HANS device would probably be enough to inhibit most of the head movement.
@@mikeblatzheim2797 We also need to consider; the layman' terms of pressure (G-Force, both latitude and longitude on the participants of the sport. High pressure or G' are a contributing fracturing in the various sledding sports as they have a very physical effect on not just performance but has been discussed in this thread the mental state of the Athlete. To get to the crux of the matter this is the most probably (and the most simple "Occam's razor" of explanation of the matter), the forces in general are not met to be experienced by the most even top elite athlete....Sledding in all its form is dangerous as is Space Flight. It is because of an increasing understanding of the sport that we coming to this conclusion....IT'S LIKE SO MANY HUMAN ENDEAVOURS VERY DANGEROUS....this again is just my own opinion and observation....🤖
There is no money in sledding. There is going to be zero funding for any of those things. Unless they can make sledding more accessible for public entertainment, no one is going to care.
it is called the H.A.N.S device (Head And Neck reStraint)
Essentially, this a sport that needs motorsports like suspension and protection systems and it doesn't have them, they should look into upgrading their systems
This almost feels like the progression in motorsports we've had so far going from seatbelts to helmets to the HANS.
Suspension on Skeleton and Luge would be even more dangerous. You’d lose the feel for the sled which increases the likelihood of crashes. The IBSF knows about all this stuff, as do the athletes. It’s a risk.
If you watch an F1 car they still get similar relative levels of vibrations to Skeleton or Luge even with their suspension.
But these protective systems also add weight, so it may take a while until it gets implemented
@@alexandermallinckrodt2847 You wouldn't lose any feel, you'd experience a different feel and have to adapt accordingly, they go so fast they have memorize the track anyway, suspension would help altogether.
@@alexandermallinckrodt2847 so why can't they use a mips style helmet to help with the vibrations and hits dulling the rotation of the skull
I knew one of the back ups for the canadian Olympic luge team. She had to stop competing because her spine had started to compress from the g forces she experienced. It's little wonder the athletes are getting brain injuries if the forces are strong enough to compress a persons spine. They should really look into how they can improve the safety of these sports before they end up getting banned out for being too dangerous.
They should just make it more well known. It's not like these people are making millions of dollars with no other options than doing a sport like most football players.
They are rich people ruining their brains for pointless medals.
@@mikeskirk worst part is that most of the time they arnt even rich!
Georgian luge athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili suffered a fatal crash during a training run for the 2010 Winter Olympics on the day of the opening ceremony.
that’s so tragic story in Georgian sport history 🇬🇪
Yeah I remember that. He flew straight into a steel support beam. Tragic.
i remember watching this live, it was so jarring. that track was not well made.
Saba kumaritashvili,his cousin competed at this olympics ❤️
Yeah, because of a poorly constructed track.
i can't believe my friend remarked sledding sports is so easy because" you just push then ride and the gravity does the work for you "
If it was that easy for your friend he would be world renown multiple gold medal winner by now.
Technically hes correct physics wise as work in physics is what one would do vs gravity. Lol old school physics joke most uneducated people dont get.
@@terryarmbruster9719 The joke really isn't that hard to understand, even for uneducated people. It's a pretty simple concept.
A lot of people like to say the same about motocross. "How do you get tired riding a motorcycle?! You just twist the throttle and the bike does all the work for you!"
Does your friend think that one just saws a bow back and forth across a violin and music comes out?
I don’t understand why this sport isn’t called out for how outright dangerous it is
Same reason American football, boxing, MMA and others are not: they put butts on seats and makes money
because if we didn’t push the limits life would be boring, i don’t care about myself why should you
its an inherit risk that comes with the sport, its also what make a sport a sport !. Its best that we accept it and move on
Some people put less value on lives than they do for entertainment and money.
Even if it is called out, you can't ban it. People know the risk when they partake in the sport. "My body, my choice" doesn't just apply to when you want an abortion.
I love these kinds of research videos. Getting new knowledge about a topic o would probably never think of looking up. Thanks Vox!
Very interesting. How come there’s no dampening system on those sleds? I’m sure the technology is there. Hydraulic or even foam shocks can be very effective I believe.
Without knowing the danger, speed probably was the main priority for all parties in the sport. Knowing that there are researches being done, I hope some safety measures will be put in place, but sliding sports in general isn't as popular and doesn't have much monetary power for infrastructure unlike NFL or F1 so... who knows :/
Money.
Athlete health in later years is an afterthought
Thinking back on the ones I've ridden they really didn't have much but the entire deck of the sled is made of a heavy foam
Speed. It’d slow them down dramatically.
Let’s face it who goes into those sports with safety bring their highest priority?
I love dangerous sports like for example f1, skiing, snowboading and skateboarding but this is just wayyyyy too dangerous that i never really liked it
This issue probably isn't limited to the sliding sports and all of the ones you mention, along with ice hockey and most football codes might be at elevated risks as well.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 f1 has a lot of protection like the halo that made it more safe and the rest doesnt have like huge risks of brain damage
@@Nicko0
The halo won't protect you from the issue this video describes, the halo protects from impacts.
The video isn't talking about concussions from hard impacts like from crashes, the video is focused on trauma that results from continual exposure to g-forces that occurs even when everything goes right.
Sports where your brain is constantly jostled around place one at an elevated risk of brain injury even if they never suffer a diagnosable concussion.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 The difference between bobsled and skiing, is that your legs and back function as shock absorbers, so your head is not jostled around nearly as much, unless you fall.
@@queertales
Definitely that's a relevant difference.
I'm mostly curious how this plays out in different motorsports, or if the forces involved are such that the suspension just helps reduce them to being manageable.
Otherwise everything that's true about the sliding sports should be true with karts and hardtail bikes too.
Those behind the scenes from the lasts videos are just too good!! Keep doing them please!!
sad stuff i remember hearing about this stuff when i was a kid in the 90's in canada but people just didn't care because the sport itself was in decline... so they sorta swept this under the rug attitude
@@justayoutuber1906 exactly i never even knew a thing about NFL concussions until the movie with will smith was released... I would be like "I guess the helmet protections them that well" to "OMG they might as well not wear a helmet"
Lord I had no idea how dangerous this sport is... I will look at these Olympians/athletes with such a new level of admiration...
Edit:thank you for all the likes! And lol so many replies to this comment are so ridiculous lol. I admire their hard work, and training against all the danger they were surrounded by constantly in this sport. If y’all are going to keep talking about the obviously terrible head injuries that come from this sport let’s talk about football too.
sitting down in front of a computer is the idlest thing to do.
Or don’t look at them at all. That solves all the problems in the long run…
Wasn't vox just complaining how there wasn't enough women in bobsleeding?
@@Chris-rg6nm Yep. Which is why we need more. Gotta get their number of traumatic head injuries up to the men's.
Try pity.
Huge respect for all the athletes!
not for putting their lives in danger. selfish
@@kazdenaze2221 ? Strange view point. So everyone who knowingly participates in an a dangerous sport is selfish?
Oh my god Vox doing consistent uploads??? BEST MONTH OF MY LIFE!
May be China funded them to upload videos related to Olympics.
@@Dochdochdoch01 or Peacock …
@@Dochdochdoch01 you are such a bot
@@metalvideos1961 Your CCP makes bots.
OMG, it seems like she has C.T.E...She described the symptoms an it makes lots of sense since she was in a fast sport and likely sustained many hits to her head that jostled her brain a lot.
This is common in Boxing, Soccer, Rugby and NFL.
Even baseball from sliding into home plate
I think she knows lol
Brain injuries are just plain scary to think about. I suffered a concussion in 2012, then a very minor one in 2015. Summer of 2021 I started having debilitating headaches. Doctor thought I might be experiencing post-concussion syndrome but by the time I could get into an office for a brain scan the symptoms had completely stopped and the neurologist said it was possible but he couldn't be certain and would need to do a scan when the headaches were happening to pinpoint what was going on.
@@dawsonharris5498
I would think he would at least want a scan at that point for comparison's sake as what you were at that point. As was shown in the video, I think that scan was while she did not have any symptoms.
@@EmperorGoliaththeEverliving I still got the scan. Neurologist said everything looked normal at that time. But that's the thing about our brains is we just really still don't know, but we keep learning more every year
I was able to make 4 runs on a practice bobsled track many years ago. The “sled” was a vinyl covered padded thing roughly the size of a refrigerator box. It was so fast and so thrilling the 4 of us kept going again until we had spent $100 apiece. We went too high on a turn and flipped onto the side and finished the run with our helmets occasionally scraping the wall. Even after that we made 1 more run. So I can grasp the danger and how addictive the adrenaline rush is as well.
This is incredibly helpful, thank you for sharing this.
great video! I had no idea about these issues. I always thought bobsledding looked like so much fun. I was a 90s kid so we all wanted to bobsled after we watched Cool Runnings haha
Anybody who hasnt realised that all proffesional sports are severly unhealthy, should watch this.
Gonna start playing golf, dart and snooker
Curling?
@@rav1n393 id argue, maybe the backs hurt after a while :D
What? How does the dangers of sledding relate to all other sports? I'd argue the average pro athlete is much more healthy than the average person, since for most sports the must eat healthy and stay in shape. What is severely unhealthy about tennis or basketball?
Archery
You'd think after HANS device became mandatory in F1 and many other motorsports 20 years ago after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr., the other sports regulatory bodies would have started developing their own version. I'll bet they could've made HANS device work for bobsleighs but concussion sensors and virtual training and cushions are the next best thing.
I'm not sure a HANS would protect racers against the equivalent to this in motorsports so it's possible that other sports might only be able to manage this risk, not eliminate it.
The HANS device is for basal fractures and it works by isolating that Achilles heel from the forces, but this issue might be more a matter of how the soft tissue responds while under g-forces, which is somewhat harder to control.
By analogy: you can hold a bucket full of water upright in the back of a pickup truck while it bounces on a rough road and maybe keep it from spilling but if the driver pulls the handbrake and spins the truck you might not keep the water from sloshing over the top, even if you've protected it from all the other types of forces that it's been subjected to.
Another interesting video. Thanks. I'm waiting for another interesting topics on this channel as usual.
I'm trying to figure out how someone gets into this sport.
do you have any connection to the sport? Also, anywhere near snow, cold weather, a bobsled run?
$
This and ski jumping...imagine the first day in ski jumping, it's not like basketball where coach goes"here kids have a ball shoot some hoops" :)))
Brain damage like foot ball
@@maxbrinkrode7411 it’s more then that very few countries even have the facilities for bobsleigh luge etc
It’s surprising how little protection they wear.
It’s like they are doing it as a hobby instead of Olympic level.
Motor-cross would be a similar level of equipment needed for stuff like this. Knee pads, chest protection, neck protection, helmet with face protection, hard boots.
Plus definitely some form of suspension.
“Your bones won’t break in a bobsled… oh no… they shatter!” - Irving Blitzer
Cool Runnings
we need to protect athletes as much as possible so they can safely enjoy their sport
I'm a former slider and watching this has sparked an idea to start a company that makes safety equipment for bobsled and skeleton
It's freaky how i got reminded of Luge by Watcher channel of top 5 sports. And then I remembered and search up the fatal luge accident years ago. And now, on the same day, Vox uploaded a video of why it's dangerous.
This is an amazing documentary
I'm wondering if Formula 1 drivers experience similar things, as they have a ton of vibrations and G-Forces consistently during the race
I wouldn't expect it to be limited to F1, it's something I'd anticipate from anyone who's participated extensively in motorsports, especially if they started young. Oval racing involves sustained squishing forces mostly in one direction, road racing involves more instantaneous squishing forces in more directions but either way our inner structures have those forces transmitted through them and the strain is likely to cause physical damage to those structures if their ability to handle load is exceeded.
Head injuries are probably a symptom of an adequately active lifestyle.
Maybe Sliding sports could look at implementing a harness device like in motorsports, but I know the head is important for movement during the run so I'm not sure if it's feasible.
@@skaldlouiscyphre2453 facts I just thought of F1 in the first place because it's the so called pinnacle of motorsports.
@@maquettemusic1623 I thought about something similar but from an another angle.
Modern road bikes (bicycles) are super fast and efficient but most of the time also really harsh to ride. So manufacturers try to prevent vibrations without losing stiffness (which is important for efficiency) with special carbon layup, decoupling tubes into 2 pieces etc. Personally idk from what material a sled is made of but I see a possibility there.
Also, they could use some kind of foam as a headrest like in F1 cars. (Especially for things like in 5:50)
@@ntglf467
'so called' says it perfectly. Most of them started in go-karts though so their whole careers would likely be good examples of how damage builds up.
Actually, I'd be curious about the people who stick with karts their whole lives. The high performance, along with a lack of suspension and mass might make them harder on drivers compared to actual cars.
Really a great work buddy.. you are the guru of investigations
great video! ive wondered how athletes age in these high intesity sports, moreso about their knees, but man, all those little hits over time. yikes
Most of the Winter Olympic sports look dangerous 😳
Man, I’m not an athlete, but I’ve been off work for a year and a half from a concussion in a car accident. I didn’t even hit my head.
I’ve been told that the more you get, the harder it is for your brain to recover, and the more susceptible you are to concussions. There are people who have had so many that they can get a concussion stepping off of a curb. That’s not even considering the small hits we get throughout childhood and our daily lives that aren’t caught.
This is a really important conversation to have. If we don’t have our brain, we have nothing.
I'm surprised there's no proper suspension/ shock dampening. Seeing on board footage it looks very shaky, and I highly doubt the vibration is an essential part of the sport
It looks worse than go kart racing imo
There's not enough room in luge/skeleton sleds. Bobsleds might be able to have some sort of leaf spring suspension added, but given the speeds they endure, it would need to be so stiff for cornering that it wouldn't actually do much dampening.
@@richardmillhousenixon all of those things were banned after 1984 to lower costs and equalize the sport
@@owenneale5912 not to mention that it is nearly physically impossible to do so within the space of a luge sled
Georgian Sportsman died while competing at Vancouver Olympics (He was participating in luge). Everything happened live...
I remember that. The worst part was the news showed it again and again afterward.
@@karenmacdonald6190 yes🥺
Its all Bob’s fault.
Yeah, Bob's led them totally down the wrong track, hasn't he?
@@cala-mm8ho LOL
Bob’s your uncle.
A(nother) great video - had no idea regarding the micro concussions. This left me with another question; what about professional boxers? How does professional boxing effect the brain?
Look up cte
I will keep this in mind before going on a roller coaster with over the shoulder restraints.
Could the ice be smoothed really well, to avoid most of the vibrations? Perhaps a machine with a heater which goes down the run and rapidly melts the surface then allows it to refreeze, evening out the highest peaks on the surface layer.
That would probably make the tracks even faster, increasing the frequency of any vibration.
Vox- Please do a segment on Valieva the figure skater. I feel like her situation requires your investigative journalism skills. Her coach is known to be abusive. Russia is known for doping and trying to win at any cost. I feel like there is a can of worms just waiting to spill, and I'd love to learn more about whats going on behind the scenes.
Very interesting. I had no idea. I knew the sliders experienced high g-forces in the turns, but I had no idea it was that high
Fantastic information
Good video, little disappointed that “g-force” wasn’t better explained since it’s more than just magnitude of g’s, duration and orientation are significantly more a factor than the magnitude of g’s. For example the body takes g’s best perpendicular, like laying down, and for short periods of time “instantaneous g”, and the body handles inverted g’s the worse and for any time longer than a few seconds.
As I said good video, just would like to see g-force better explained.
Been playing Mario and Sonics Winter Olympic Games for years and I've NEVER crashed.
cracked
Brilliant video!
Whose watching this after seeing all the crashes in luge & skiing runs today in Beijing?
It's frightening that even without crashing there can be so much damage done - almost as frightening as the courses each having one spot where multiple Olympic athletes crashed today.
That's scary
IMO I think bigger more insulated sleds could help cushion the brain while larger tracks with less g force turns could help with the other trauma to their brains. This could help fix the root cause of their problems and but there might be higher accidents with the sled falling over…
My first thought on all of this, is that they should add a suspension system that would absorb most of the vibration without reducing performance. Honestly it just seems like something that should have been thought a while ago
Nobody can compete with Micka, he makes it look too smooth.
They need some sort of suspension on that thing.
Penguins: goes sliding down an avalanche everytime without problem
Humans: hey that looks fun, let's try it
Also humans: why is this so hard and dangerous for us but not for penguins?
Penguins: Haha bobsled go brrrr brrrr
Maybe these athletes should be fatter.
seeing the Whistler track brings back bad memories of the Georgian luger who died there during 2010 Oly practice run, RIP
Good content again it may help people to choose another hobby.
The first time i saw this sport i was like oh it looks so easy even i can hop on it and slide fast and all u need is to reduce the drag. But my views changed after seeing the 2010 olympic accident.
Correction about rollercoasters : The average G-Force experienced on a rollercoaster is ~3.5G Some reach the high 4s and some do hit 5 but most stay around 3.5
Cite your sources!
5 is enough to blackout a normal person. So its rarely seen on roller coasters and if they are seen, only for a second or less. You are totally correct
I’ve had plenty of rough falls that probably caused damage (off horses, bikes, trees, rooftops, while skiing, and more), but the worst concussion I’ve ever had was slipping at the top of my very steep stairs! I came to at the bottom, and couldn’t even move without feeling like puking. For some reason I can’t fathom, at the time I vehemently refused to go to the doctor, even though I had a bad concussion and a potentially broken arm!
That would be the shock.
I'm surprised that nobody has taken noise reducing headsets and "gone heavy" with them... placing lightweight but powerful electromagnetic transducers on the helmets, with fast accelerometers that "read" vibrations and simply push the helmet the other way. There would be some loss of effectiveness through the padding, but it would still reduce the overall magnitude of a vibration.
NHRA Top Fuel is another sport where vibration and G forces can end careers early, and in at least one instance lives. From nerve issues to detached retinas on the low end, up to a resonance issue with a chassis undergoing deflating tire shake ending the life of Eric Medlin in 2007 from diffuse axonal injury.
Thanks Vox. Keeping my kids away from this even though I don’t know a single person who’s ever done this. But cool runs was awesome.
The only public Luge track in America is in Muskegon MI and it’s nearly impossible to go above 30 mph on it, even if you’re a world class athlete. I’d recommend giving it a try if you’re in the area, as at those speeds there really isn’t any danger. In fact the most common injury there is slipping on your way up the stairs 😂
hardly hidden! massive speed, head hits side, bad for head - similar to american football head injury.
my profile picture is of the track in Norway watching this has helped realize some of the damage I may have been doing that said I have yet to find anything as exilerating and will continue to occasionally slide from time to time
Even if u don't win a medal just being there is an achievement. Enduring what each sports does to an athletes body, definitely something I can't go through.
If someone wants to do more research in the area, look up chronic traumatic encephalopathy. I haven't looked into the papers on sled head but it sounds like that to me
I think we are treading a very steep path here... The question is how do we push the limits of 'faster, higher, stronger' without alienating human life?
We are already living in the age of extremism and hyper self gratification .
I remember a wooden rollercoaster eons ago. Incredibly bumpy and so easy to get whiplash. Can only imagine what sledding would be like…
Padded neck restraints made like a HANS device would help a ton. It would absorb lots of the energy in side to side movements.
the HIDDEN reason, really? "Lets slide down a curvy ice tube at 100 mph, what could go wrong?" don't think the danger is really hidden in any way here..
Is there science on headers in football/soccer causing brain damage?
Yes. A lot actually. Recently in England they made heading the ball for under 18s against the rules in a attempt to save developing brains
I think the movie concussion starring will smith speaks on the brain damage only
Oh yes, I work for a clinic that researches CTE. My kids will not play repetitive contact sports, I’m not even sure about baseball
It’s why headers are not permitted in youth soccer in ages under about 13
bro u like 5 years late cause science has found that both American and soccer football can cause some of the worse head injuries in sports.
Not sure if any sport should be risk free but more Knowledge about the risks is important and if you can minimize the risk thats good too.
Sad but true,I hope it helps others,before it's too late...
My head(brain) hurt after seeing this
A serious discussion behind sliding sports needs to be made in 2022, as the brain health of these young athletes have to be protected. It fairs poorly than even motorsports, or boxing, where the athlete contends with the sport itself, rather than knowingly endangered by the physics of the track itself.
I've never doubted how dangerous these events are
I was literally just about to comment what about roller coasters as soon as she said it’s like a very very intense roller coaster, immediately got my answer
This makes the other recent Vox video, about diversity in sledding sports, seem really weird.
It's not a sport for faint hearted ❤️
or the faint headed
SOMEONE who is involved in bobsledding, PLEASE look into the death of Top Fuel Funny Car driver Eric Medlen. He was killed by vibrations. The vibrations ripped his brain stem in half. The solution to this issue has already been invented for at least the bobsled. ISP will not help in Luge or Skeleton unfortunately.
There’s some early research looking at mountain bikers hands and concussions too. The UCI governing body commissioned a study into wearable shock meters and weekly limits due later this year.
The other sport being proactive is F1. They g-meter inside their ear pieces which measure the force of impacts and accumulated forces over a race weekend
Attention to Olympics committee to have this sporting event checked for athletes safety.
The athletes understand the risk and willingly partake in the event. The IOC also understands this
So like American football players then?
Watching this very much reminded me of the movie Concussions with Will Smith. The movie talks, just as here, about the long therm effect of concussions and it is SCARY to realise that there isn’t much talk about it just as this sport if it causes such serious issues mostly after the sport. You can definitely say both sport are a serious danger to your health. I hope we will see some changes in this the coming years
Yes, if they attached 10 vibrators to their helmets and get tackled
Same problem in professional rugby. Early onset dementia, not from one or two heavy concussive impacts (head on head in a tackle), but from hundreds of micro concussions in training and during matches during scrummaging, rucking, mauling, and of course tackling. Our brains simply aren’t designed for repetitive rattles or impacts.
How hard would it be to redesign the tracks to make sure the surfaces and corner transitions are as smooth as possible? Maybe even separating the sled tracks into multiple pieces so they can more easily conform to imperfections.
They *completely* overlooked the 103 g's from a football players impact. I know it's not the subject of the video, but they put higher on the concussion range. I thought they might do a nod to it, since it's so incredibly high. I mean when your point is on how bad something is, it feels weird to be thrown a much worse figure that isn't addressed.
CTE in footballers is already known, and it's semi-obvious because of the impacts. In sliding sports, they're suffering even without crashes because of the combination of high-G corners and roughness.
yeah like Emyr said the impact of, well, impacts on football players is already pretty well known, studied, and talked about. The point of this video was to talk about a lesser known and different type of sport related brain injury, and for American audiences at least an aside to talk about football would be a somewhat redundant as those issues are already pretty well known. It sort of acted as a refrence point.
Wait I thought it was obvious, you're sitting on a table going highway speeds around a marble circuit, you're trying to tell me it takes a trained eye to know that's dangerous?
GOTTA GO FAST M8
Right!? Like they don’t even put padding.
The dangers of crashing are obvious. What isn't obvious is that the sport is still dangerous even if you don't crash.
I truly imagine how many people who played contact sports deal with these types of mental health issues.......I wish there was a way that everyone could be tested like this to be aware of mental damage.
I went to Lenzerheide, in Switzerland, a few weeks age for a Night Sledding event, and my gosh, that was very dangerous. Many people fell off the cliff and hurt themselves. Even one woman was taken by medical chopper because she lost consciousness.
Can we all appreciate the fact that Vox never disappointed us with her content 🤚🤚🤚
Which part of this is hidden?
The brain is hidden inside the skull
It's hidden because even those who never crashed suffer micro concussions without knowing it.
And it damages their brains!!
And an F1 driver going through this torture in weekly basis. All of that G pulls and vibration inside the car going the speed of 300 km/h...
Karting drivers are worse
I remember a few years ago watching this guy fly off the track into a wall and died at the Olympics doing the luge.
But when you are one of the people who is so passionate about the sport you also take some of the dangers for granted right? I mean, sure they need to know the risks, but in the end the athletes are the ones who decide to sled down a hill at 100+ km/h.
I basically agree, but the reality of CTE and similar conditions related to collisions in sport have only recently been given due attention.
@@philipalexander2762
If we understood how much danger our ancestors accepted as part and parcel of life our heads would probably explode.
You guys needed a Vox video to tell you that gliding down a tube of ice faster than you’d drive on the highway is dangerous?
No but sometimes hearing from the people who do it / know about it is fun
The point of the video is that it's not just crashing that's dangerous. It's the constant skull vibrations from the g-force. I didn't know that.
Hii ali lo
The thing is... Every attempt to make the sleds more dampened (i.e. a suspension) would make the sleds way too fast and almost every track would need major changes.
Bobsleigh is such a violent sport, even without a crash.
The (G-) forces are just crazy and don't even mention crashes...
I had one season with with World-Cup races and it was just cool, pure madness... but I have to say: sled-head doesn't surprise me a bit.
It's just so addictive...
I have to believe something like a HANS device could be implemented for the sliders and the equipment could have a basic pushrod suspension for further safety. They’re going at motorsports pace so motorsports level of protection is required