Hold Your Horses! Equestrian Helmet Facts, Fiction & Future Research

Equestrian sports may not be thought of as high-contact in the same way that football is, but they result in around 40% of sport-related head injuries. Sara Gould, M.D., a sports medicine physician, and Kevin Schrum, Ph.D., a research engineer, discuss their research on equestrian helmets. They explain the importance of helmets in mitigating devastating injuries such as traumatic subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). Their ongoing research investigating how to limit the rotational acceleration of the brain during impact via helmets has suggested that most helmets (even less-expensive ones) do protect the wearer well from many of the worst injuries in the sport.