High gas prices lead to more motorcycle accidents

The Philadelphia Inquirer recently wrote a piece that examined the connection between rising gas prices and an uptick in motorcycle-related deaths. As the cost of gas goes up, many people decide to ditch their cars for this more fuel-efficient (and often more fun!) option. While this may seem a proper solution for your budget, it can also put you at higher risk of being involved in a fatal accident.

Unlike cars—which come equipped with seat belts, airbags, collision avoidance systems, sensors, antilock brakes, and more—motorcycles leave you out in the open, exposed, without enhanced features. In fact, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), motorcyclists are 26 times more likely than passenger car occupants to die in motor vehicle crashes. The NHTSA also reports that states without helmet laws showed ten times more fatalities. Pennsylvania is one of those states, […]

President highlights risk of head injuries in youth sports

Today President Obama hosted a conference highlighting the risks of head injuries to young athletes in an effort to promote awareness of the problem. The Healthy Kids & Safe Sports Concussion Summit included researchers, professional athletes, parents, coaches, league officials, and sportscasters.

USA Today reported President Obama told those at the conference that there are no “solid numbers” on the extent of the concussion problem in football and other contact sports. “We need to have better research, better data, better safety equipment, and better protocols.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States. A concussion, which is common in many sports, is a type of TBI caused by a bump, blow or jolt to the head that can change the way the brain normally works. […]

Robert Munley notes the increase in youth sports concussions

A new study published this month in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that there was a continuous increase in concussions among high school athletes between 2005 and 2012. The rate of concussions nearly doubled from .23 concussions per 1,000 athletes in 2006 to .52 per 1,000 in 2012.

A concussion is an injury to the brain that produces a transient loss of brain function with symptoms of dizziness, lightheadedness, confusion, headache and vision changes.

The study was authored by Joseph Rosenthal, a clinical assistant of physical medicine and rehabilitation at The Ohio State University and a group of his colleagues utilizing data from the High School Reporting Information Online sports injury surveillance system. The system contains data from a representative sample of 100 U.S. high schools that have at least one certified trainer on staff.

The report studied boys’ […]

Medical errors third-leading cause of death in America

A “Medical Errors” report just released by U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer calls medical errors a “quiet and largely unseen tragedy.” New research estimates up to 440,000 Americans are dying each year as the result of medical errors and other preventable hospital errors. According to the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), and based on these figures, medical/hospital errors is the third-leading cause of death in America, behind heart disease and cancer.

Senator Boxer stated, “these deaths are all the more heartbreaking for families because they are preventable.”

The Partnership for Patients, a new public-private partnership funded through the Affordable Care Act, released a list of the 9 most common medical errors:
1. Adverse drug events
2. Catheter-associated urinary tract infections
3. Central line-associated blood stream infections
4. Injuries from falls and immobility
5. Obstetrical adverse effects
6. Bedsores
7. […]

Motorcycle accident deaths increase 3rd year in a row

Motorcycle rider fatalities increased for the third consecutive year in 2012, up more than 7% over 2011, while motorcyclist injuries rose 15% to 93,000. A shocking 42% of the reported fatalities involved unhelmeted motorcyclists. These figures were released by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) in its Quick Facts 2012 report, which was released last month.

A study released by the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) reported that a better economy and higher gas prices mean more motorcycle riders on the road and fewer states with helmet laws means more fatalities. The Governors study mentioned several reasons for the high motorcyclist fatality rate, which accounted for about 14% of all traffic fatalities, including lack of helmet laws, alcohol use and speeding.

The NHTSA reported that motorcyclist fatalities accounted for 15% of the total fatalities for the year. There were 10 times as many unhelmeted motorcyclist fatalities in states without universal helmet laws in 2012, […]