how to avoid concussions

brad504 · Newbie Joined: 10 Sep 2010 Posts: 13

I am a beginner rider and finally got back out on the water last week with some friends and started attempting some jumps off the wake (first time). After a faceplant I had a pretty bad headache, and didnt want to risk making it any worse so I pretty much stopped attempting jumping the wake. Not sure if the headache was a result of a concussion or not but that leads me to my question.

Is there something I can do to avoid wrecking my head? I cant really control how I'm going to fall during these jump attempts. Is this something I'm just going to have to gut through until I get it down, or should i consider wearing a helmet or slowing the speed down (I normally do 20-30 mph)

Also, a question for you experienced riders out there--When you take a hard fall, resulting in a bad headache, do you keep on riding through the pain or do you take a break and wait until your head is right again?

msimpson · Posted: May 21, 2012 6:53 am Post subject:

Everyone that I have even ridden with in the past 16 years goes through the "tight neck" phase when learing to jump. Keep riding and repition will eventually win and those type of falls will become less and less and less. Listen to your body when it comes to stoping or not.

TheHebrewHammer · Addict Joined: 03 Dec 2010 Posts: 526

I've had plenty of minor concussions in my short career, and I eventually started wearing a helmet. Not one since then.

There's been an ongoing debate in the wakeboarding community for years about whether helmets hurt or help. Some people will tell you that the added surface area makes the falls worse, but in my experience, this isn't true at all. Take a hard edge with a helmet on and you'll understand.

As for the speed, 30 mph is way too fast. The ideal speed depends on the boat and the rope length, but in general, 19-21 is good for beginners, 22-25 is good for experienced riders (most pros ride around 24-25), and 26-27 is for the long-rope daredevils like Randall Harris who want to go huge and are willing to take some monster hits. Anything over 27 will flatten out the wake too much and is also a lot more dangerous.

Finally, take it easy! I'm always eager to bounce back from hard falls, but if I take a hit to my head, I usually take a break. You're probably going to be riding for a long time, and you don't want to use up too much of your concussion budget right away. Concussions are no joke. They can add up very quickly and do long term damage. So don't try to be a hardass!

hrwake · Newbie Joined: 13 Feb 2008 Posts: 46

Ive spent a few days attempting to barefoot, which results in some really gnarly face smackers, and the best advice i got was to tuck my chin to my chest before hitting the water. It takes a little bit of time before this becomes instinctive, but from my experiences it reduces the headache pain and neck pain because your head doesn't snap back when it hits the water. Or you could give the helmet a shot. and either way, i would definitely agree that you should give it a break if your head really hurts, no sense in making it worse and making yourself more scared to attempt the trick again

holdsworth · Posted: May 21, 2012 5:12 pm Post subject:

GnarShredd · Posted: May 22, 2012 5:29 am Post subject:

brad504 · Newbie Joined: 10 Sep 2010 Posts: 13

My headaches came specifically from catching the toeside of the board.

I did a jump and was leaning forward on the landing, causing the toeside to dip down and catch the water--I immidiately knew I was going to faceplant fast, i did and got a huge headache (dunno if that means a minor concussion or not).

So in the scenario--I should try to tuck my chin in, roll my torso forward as I'm face planting (before hitting the water)>?

holdsworth · Posted: May 23, 2012 8:48 am Post subject:

Yup... just want to roll right into it.

jboneill · Newbie Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 45 City: Austin

its going to happen no matter what... the best thing i could say to do is wear a cga approved vest. i feel that you get concussions just as easily with or without a helmet.

SMLWinds · Newbie Joined: 11 Jun 2012 Posts: 6

I'll throw in my 2 cents here...first of all, I think the faceplant and hard fall phase goes away for most people. I was a decent slalom skier and started learning to wakeboard, took a few jaw jolting falls, and almost quite. However, after that first week or so of learning, I haven't had a concussion producing fall since then. You learn how to fall, learn when to let go, etc.

With that said, I must also confess that I am a sport medicine surgeon and while I push the limits of competing with injury, getting back on the board when you have a headache from a fall is very ill advised. Your brain doesn't heal very well from repeated beatings so I urge you to take a break and let yourself heal if you think you have a concussion. The brain becomes much more vulnerable to severe injury if you have a concussion already.