Injuries severe enough to cause head or other trauma also often cause neck fracture or spinal cord injury.

Winter sports contribute to a greater number of head than neck injuries, but both can be devastating.

While severe head injuries can result in a host of disabling cognitive and physical health problems, severe neck or spinal cord injuries can result in partial or complete paralysis.

The most severe of these injuries can tragically end in death.

The following are a few true-life accounts from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission:

•A 38-year-old male skied off the marked trail and was found at the bottom of an embankment. He was not wearing a helmet, suffered severe head, chest and abdomen trauma and died from his injuries.

•A 19-year-old female was sledding and hit playground equipment at the bottom of the hill. She suffered severe head and abdominal trauma and died from her injuries.

•A 19-year-old male was snowboarding. hit his head and was found unconscious. He was not wearing a helmet and suffered a cranial hemorrhage and concussion.

•A 14-year-old male took a fall while snowboarding. He suffered a spinal cord injury and was left quadriplegic.

•A 48-year-old female passenger on a snowmobile traveling at 30 mph was thrown during a crash. She was not wearing a helmet and suffered a vertebral fracture.

•A 17-year-old male was playing ice hockey and slid backward into a wall, sustaining a fracture.

The news come from http://www.bossgoo.com