I crashed hard Thursday/new helmet required/concussion thread

[shinomaster]

So I was riding to work Thursday morning on a rare glorious sunny Portland day on my familiar route, and strangely lost control of my newly rebuilt Zanconato cx bike with 30mm Vittorias. I'm still not sure what happened (front wheel stuck in a crack maybe). It's my most stable bike. I was going fast and the next thing I know I was going sideway on some very rough, hard old concrete. It was probably my second most painful crash in my 34 yeas as a cyclist. At first I just thought I crashed on my hip but as the day went on it was clear I had a concussion and I found some marks on my favorite POC Raceday (old Helmet). Four days later I still have a headache and am having a hard time focusing on my screen/phone.
I need a new helmet too. I wonder if a newer MIPS helmet may have deflected the impact a bit? What's a good comparable nice fitting replacement for POC raceday? Of course my NOS Chorus 11 Levers are all effed up now.. but still shifts great.

Thanks in advance.

[schwa86]

Very sorry to hear about your crash heal well and stay away from screens. I recently bought a Giro Aries based on the VA Tech crash test reviews. I like it. Edit — VA Tech site here: https://www.helmet.beam.vt.edu/bicyc...t-ratings.html

[Old School]

I think MIPS is overrated. That being said, I won't buy a helmet without it.

Your impact was a "smack", not a "rotational event that may or may not have been minimized by a layer of plastic".

I think you are very lucky, and NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR.

I receive extensive training on this stuff, and the number of variables is far beyond anything the internet, you, us, or me can discuss.

[AngryScientist]

Originally Posted by shinomaster

I wonder if a newer MIPS helmet may have deflected the impact a bit?

Oof, sounds like a hard blow. Keep an eye on yourself and go see a doc if you dont think you should. Definitely be extra cautious moving forward. Another hit to the noggin could spell real trouble. Play it safe for a while amigo.

With regard to the question, I know tech marches on and things get better, but my feeling continues to be that every crash is unique and different, and the way you hit your head comes very much down to luck as to how bad it's going to be. Maybe a different style helmet would have helped, maybe not. No real way to know IMO.

Hang in there and keep healing up.

[Hilltopwalters]

Originally Posted by schwa86

Very sorry to hear about your request, heal well and stay away from screens. I recently bought a Giro Aries based on the VA Tech crash test reviews. I like it.

+1 on the Aries. It's the next helmet I'm going to grab. My buddy has had some head trauma from his past and was recommended this helmet.

Hope you heal up quickly. Damage to the dome must never be taken lightly.

[shinomaster]

Originally Posted by Old School

I think MIPS is overrated. That being said, I won't buy a helmet without it.

Your impact was a "smack", not a "rotational event that may or may not have been minimized by a layer of plastic".

I think you are very lucky, and NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR.

I receive extensive training on this stuff, and the number of variables is far beyond anything the internet, you, us, or me can discuss.

I had a pretty bad one 20 years ago, and this doesn't seem as severe I didn't black out or throw up. At first I thought I had just hit my hip. Ironically I was on my way to an eye exam and she was concerned that I had a concussion and looked in my eyes pretty carefully. Later that day I ran after my dog and felt really dizzy. I guess I thought this was pretty mild but perhaps not. I was mostly still clipped in my pedals and holding the bars as I went sideways so I mostly hit my left side but I know now the front corner on my helmet had an impact. It's not dented or cracked, only scuffed, but my old bell had been rung.

[XXtwindad]

Originally Posted by Old School

I think MIPS is overrated. That being said, I won't buy a helmet without it.

Your impact was a "smack", not a "rotational event that may or may not have been minimized by a layer of plastic".

I think you are very lucky, and NEED TO SEE A DOCTOR.

I receive extensive training on this stuff, and the number of variables is far beyond anything the internet, you, us, or me can discuss.

This. Best wishes for a quick and full recovery.

[Peter P.]

Delete duplicate post.

[Peter P.]

Buy another POC even if it's a newer model. You know the head form is compatible with your noggin and manufacturers tend to not change things.

[makoti]

I'm looking at a new Giro, the Aries already mentioned. FWIW: REI is having their members sale. It's 20% off with your member code (I don't think it's excluded. EDIT: It's not).
That said, the reason I'm getting a new Giro is my old Giro's worked and I can still feed myself because of it. Call it loyalty, JuJu, whatever. I'm not messing with what clearly worked. My suggestion is you consider the same.
And get your butt to the Dr, especially since you've already had a bad one.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by makoti

That said, the reason I'm getting a new Giro as my old Giro's worked and I can still feed myself because of it. Call it loyalty, JuJu, whatever. I'm not messing with what clearly worked.

Makes sense.

With the persistent headache and intermittent dizziness it’s probably wise to talk with a doc.

[Polyglot]

I have suffered over a dozen concussions in my life that I am aware of and perhaps a few more that I never realized. The first half dozen were relatively mild and I was back to "normal" within a day or two at most. I then suffered a traumatic brain injury in an automotive accident eight years ago, where according to the neurologist, I destroyed about 10% of my brain (confirmed with MRI.) It took about six months to get back to a plateau at about 90% of my pre-accident level, and then another 2 years to reach about 95%. Since then I have suffered six more concussions. Each subsequent concussion was caused by ever more banal accidents that pre-accident I would never have suffered. Unfortunately, my brain is ever so slightly delayed in reacting and processing situations, so that something that I could have dealt with in the past, I can no longer react fast enough to avoid. My doctors prohibited me from riding for a number of years and then only gave me a green light after I bought a MIPS helmet and passed a variety of processing speed tests. My recovery time from the last two relatively mild concussions exceeded six months and I am still quite a bit slower than in the past. I have been warned that I can expect all future concussions to be far worse.My most recent MRI's show ever-increasing presence of white matter in the brain after each new concussion.

Neurologists that I have seen post-concussion have basically confirmed the concussion and then gave me limitations that I was meant to abide with (which help tremendously with recovery) but can't really do much in most cases. A neuro-optometrist on the other hand helped me tremendously as post concussion my depth perception was knocked out of whack and using occlusion therapy and special prismatic lenses made immediate and useful improvements. Most of the time, the only real cure is time.

Be careful.

[rounder]

Wow Shino. Best wishes for a speedy recovery. I know people say things like it is just like riding a bike. But for rides like most of us take, bad things can happen on a ride. We need to be careful. Not saying you are old. But I am 78 and cannot do the same things I used to.

[shinomaster]

Yikes Polyglot, I would maybe choose a different sport if i were you. I checked all the "when to see a Dr. signs the day I crashed and I didn't meet them, but I may email my Dr. tomorrow. I'm about to turn 50 May 12 and was looking forward to a good year on the bike. Last year I did a lot of PT for my knee and my strava times were close to what they were in 2017 ( I used to race and still turn myself inside out on climbs), the year I got strava so I am still hoping for a good year, but I think I will not be riding for a month maybe. When i had my last concussion it took about a month to feel normal from what I remember, but that was 20 years ago. I think a helmet like that Giro could have possibly deflected some impact a bit because of the way my helmet grazed the road. And thanks for all the kind words and input everyone, I really appreciate it. The crash happened so fast, I was only going about 20mph, be careful everyone.

[.RJ]

You probably have a concussion clinic near you - seek them out and go see them, they will help you get back on track.

I crashed hard with a MIPS helmet and got a concussion, so I dont know how much it helped - Impossible to know.

Best of luck, it sucks because there's no way to know how long it takes to get back to normal.