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ROLLERBLADE SAFETY DEVICES PROVE WORTHWHILE.

Last year, an estimated 1 in 250 U.S. rollerbladers suffered an injury serious enough to require emergency room care. Do the safety devices marketed with high-speed skates (helmets, knee pads, elbow pads and wrist guards) actually offer any protection in this dangerous sport?

CDC investigators interviewed 161 injured rollerbladers who sought care at selected U.S. emergency rooms, and then constructed four small case-control studies of injury to four body parts (wrist, elbow, knee, and head). Participants ranged from 6 to 59 years old, and 48 percent were male; all levels of rollerblade expertise were represented. About half the subjects were not wearing any safety gear when they were injured, half wore at least one form of protection, and less than ten percent wore all possible safety devices.

After adjustment for confounders, wrist guards decreased risk for wrist injury about ten-fold. Elbow pads were similarly protective against elbow injuries. Neither knee nor head injuries were seen frequently enough for the effectiveness of knee pads and helmets to be adequately assessed.

Comment: This study (whose design probably led to underestimates of the protective efficacy of each device) should be taken in conjunction with others that confirm the life-saving potential of helmets in high-speed sports. Physicians now have the necessary ammunition for endorsing safety gear to their rollerblading patients.

— A Zuger

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine December 10, 1996

Citation(s):

Schieber RA et al. Risk factors for injuries from in-line skating and the effectiveness of safety gear. N Engl J Med 1996 Nov 28 335 1630-1635.

• Original article (Subscription may be required)
• Medline abstract (Free)

Thompson RS; Rivara FP. Protective equipment for in-line skaters. N Engl J Med 1996 Nov 28 335 1680-1681.

• Original article (Subscription may be required)
• Medline abstract (Free)