{"id":1603,"date":"2014-08-18T06:00:26","date_gmt":"2014-08-18T10:00:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hnetalk.com\/Member\/?p=1603"},"modified":"2014-08-18T06:00:26","modified_gmt":"2014-08-18T10:00:26","slug":"do-i-have-to-wear-a-bike-helmet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/do-i-have-to-wear-a-bike-helmet\/","title":{"rendered":"Do I Have to Wear a Bike Helmet?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"HNE_DrLaurie_728X90\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hi, this is Dr. Laurie from Health New England.This week we\u2019ll be talking about bike safety.<\/p>\n

My sister-in-law, recently starting getting in shape by riding her new bike with her teenage daughter. On her first ride she ended up falling off the bike!!! Fortunately, she was just scratched up. It could have been much worse. This is the time of year when I see a lot of people in the ER with more serious bike injuries. To get the most enjoyment out of biking, put safety first! No matter how much it messes up your hair; wear a properly fitted bike helmet to prevent head injuries in the event you fall off the bike like my sister-in-law!<\/p>\n

I have put together some information on why helmets are so important to wear while riding a bike. Please read below and feel free to share some thoughts.<\/p>\n

\"sweat<\/a>Did you know that in Massachusetts, wearing a helmet is the law? If you are 16 years old or younger, you must wear a helmet while riding a bike at all times!! Helmets with a CPSC approval are good for biking and in-line skating and are available in most sporting goods stores. “Multi-sport” helmets with a Snell B-95 approval are designed for skateboarding, roller-skating, and riding scooters as well as biking and in-line skating. Snell B-95 rated helmets provide more protection but you may have to check out more stores to find one.<\/p>\n

Your helmet should sit flat on your head \u2014 make sure it is level and is not tilted back or forward. The front of the helmet should sit low \u2014 about two finger widths above your eyebrows to protect your forehead. The straps on each side of your head should form a “Y” over your ears, with one part of the strap in front of your ear, and one behind \u2014 just below your earlobes. If the helmet leans forward, adjust the rear straps. If it tilts backward, tighten the front straps. Buckle the chinstrap securely at your throat so that the helmet feels snug on your head and does not move up and down or from side to side.<\/p>\n

Helmets…Fact or Fiction?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fiction:<\/strong> Helmets aren’t cool.
\nFact:<\/strong> Who says helmets can’t be cool? If you’re shopping for a helmet, there are lots of options, so you can pick out your favorite color. Or decorate your helmet with stickers and reflectors to show your personal style. Helmets are designed to help prevent injuries to your head, ’cause a serious fall or crash can cause permanent brain damage or death. And that’s definitely not cool.<\/p>\n

Fiction:<\/strong> Helmets just aren’t comfortable.
\nFact:<\/strong> Today’s helmets are lightweight, well ventilated, and have lots of padding. Try on your helmet to make sure it fits properly and comfortably on your head before you buy it.<\/p>\n

Fiction:<\/strong> Really good riders don’t need to wear helmets.
\nFact:<\/strong> Bike crashes or collisions can happen at any time. Even professional bike racers get in serious wrecks. In three out of four bike crashes, bikers usually get some sort of injury to their head.<\/p>\n

Riding a bicycle is great exercise and fun for people of all ages. It only takes a minute to secure a bike helmet on yourself and your fellow riders! Safe biking everyone!<\/p>\n

Don’t forget to take my weekly bike quiz. There is a free reward, my mini doctor first aid kit, just for taking one of my weekly quizzes!<\/p>\n

\"Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclaimer:<\/em>
\nThe opinions on this site expressed by the author, in any linked materials and in the Comments Section are for informational purposes only and are not to be construed or used as medical advice and\/or substituted for a doctor-patient relationship.<\/em><\/p>\n

Using, accessing, browsing and\/or commenting on this site and\/or providing personal or medical information on this site do not constitute a physician-patient relationship. Please do not ask for medical advice in the comments or via e-mail. If the reader or any other person has a medical concern, please consult with a licensed physician or other trained health care professional in your state. Please do not act upon any information shared on this blog without first consulting your physician.<\/em><\/p>\n

Never disregard medical advice or delay seeking medical care because of something you have read on or accessed through this site.<\/em><\/p>\n

The inclusion of any link does not imply endorsement of the linked site or its affiliates or any information, content, products, services, advertising or other materials presented on or through linked website. This site is not responsible for the availability, accuracy, or any information, content, products or services accessible from such sites.<\/em><\/p>\n

Comments:<\/em>
\nThis site is open to the public. You are responsible for what you post, so please be thoughtful prior to commenting and refrain from sharing information that you would like to keep private. Health care professionals should refrain from sharing specific details about cases that could potentially violate HIPAA. Please also refrain from posting content that is obscene, defamatory, threatening, fraudulent, invasive of another persons privacy rights, or is otherwise unlawful.<\/em><\/p>\n

Comments or content that violate the above may be removed at our sole discretion.<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi, this is Dr. Laurie from Health New England.This week we\u2019ll be talking about bike safety. My sister-in-law, recently starting getting in shape by riding her new bike with her teenage daughter. On her first ride she ended up falling off the bike!!! Fortunately, she was just scratched up. It could have been much worse. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1692,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[97],"class_list":["post-1603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-drlaurie","tag-dr-laurie-do-i-have-to-wear-a-bike-helmet"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/bike-helmet1.jpg?fit=259%2C282&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6ZZGa-pR","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1692"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hnetalk.com\/member\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}