Jasper freestyle skiers are the test subjects in a cutting-edge research project that could protect them from future head injuries.
The University of Alberta study, led by Dr. Martin Mrazik, is considering when it鈥檚 safe for a freestyle skier to return to their sport following a head injury.
Assisting in the project are skiers from the Jasper Freeride Freestyle Ski Team.
Mrazik, who received an Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research grant for the project, has conducted similar research on hockey and football players, including athletes from the Edmonton Oilers and Eskimos.
This, though, is the first time such research has been done on freestyle skiers.
鈥淭his is pretty novel,鈥� said the professor of Educational Psychology. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty neat that we have this opportunity.
鈥淗ockey is the big sport: 600,000 kids in Canada under the age of 18 are playing hockey, so it鈥檚 gotten a lot of attention, but these kids are doing even more extreme stuff,鈥� he said of the freestyle team.
Mrazik was in Jasper earlier this month to meet with the athletes, their coaches and their parents, and to begin his work.
The first step in the study, which he completed Feb. 1, was to have the athletes complete a baseline test that measures their normal reaction times, memory and concentration.
Following an injury, that baseline provides Mrazik with hard data to compare an athlete鈥檚 test results against.
If the athlete is still symptomatic, they will do poorly when they retake the test: their reaction times will be slower, their memory will be worse and they will process information at a slower rate. Without the test, these symptoms are easily overlooked, especially if the athlete no longer has a headache, dizziness, nausea or any of the other noticeable concussion symptoms.
鈥淭hey can be symptom free, but they鈥檙e not functioning properly,鈥� explained Jeff Krushell, the freeride team鈥檚 director of athlete development and the co-author on the research grant that鈥檚 funding the project. 鈥淭hen you get them on a mogul field and they鈥檙e going as fast as they can and they can鈥檛 react as fast: that鈥檚 dangerous.鈥�
In a high speed sport like freestyle skiing, Mrazik said it鈥檚 important that athletes are functioning at their full capacity, otherwise there鈥檚 a huge risk for severe brain injuries.
鈥淭he concern nowadays is that in the first few days after a concussion your brain goes through some pretty significant changes,鈥� he explained. 鈥淎nd if you activate or exert the brain when it鈥檚 not ready, it can actually cause some damage and that鈥檚 a problem that we think has happened with some of these NHL players that you鈥檝e heard about in the news.
鈥淭hey were playing through all kinds of symptoms鈥攈eadaches and dizziness鈥攁nd their brains were saying, 鈥業 can鈥檛 do this,鈥� but they kept playing and kept taking hits. We have realized that actually causes cell death.鈥�
So to protect athletes, Mrazik has been using the baseline test to determine when their brain is ready to get back in the game.
鈥淲e want to find that sweet spot and say, 鈥榯he brain is ready now.鈥欌��
As well as the test鈥攖o gather information on how many hits to the head these athletes are taking as they compete and train鈥攁n eight gram microchip is being placed on the back of their helmets to 鈥渕easure the G forces that these kids are pulling.鈥�
The same kind of research is also being done on PeeWee hockey players in Edmonton.
鈥淟ast year our results showed us that the average 12- or 13-year-old took seven and a half hits at about 18 G. They鈥檙e taking a lot of hits, a lot more than anybody dreamed of. Then the question is: what effect does that have on them after they play?鈥�
The same question applies to the freestyle skiers, who Mrazik hopes to follow for the next five years.
鈥淚 want to see: what kind of G forces are they taking and does that change their brains?鈥�
Ultimately, he said, he hopes his research will result in a decrease in the number of head injuries occurring in sports.
Nicole Veerman
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