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The hidden reason Olympic sledding is so dangerous
“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: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/head-first-safe-the-sport-skeleton-mark-wood-mbe/
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 [email protected]
For a review of the literature on sled head see: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2018.00772/full
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:
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/26/sports/olympics/olympics-bobsled-suicide-brain-injuries.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/01/sports/olympics/concussion-skeleton-sledding-brain-damage.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/04/sports/olympics/bobsled-travis-bell-joe-sisson.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/20/sports/olympics/skeleton-concussion-bobsled-head-injuries.html
Christina Smith has a book coming out about her experiences recovering from a brain injury, you can preorder it here: https://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: https://bit.ly/3oESqgx
The fourth video highlights a ski lodge trapped in a border dispute on the Alps. Watch here: https://youtu.be/UnV97eYP6YU
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