College Graduate? You May Be Less Likely to Suffer a Disabling Brain Injury

If you have a college degree, you may be much less likely to suffer from the long-term disabling effects of a brain injury in a bicycle accident. According to a new study, high education levels prevent a person from suffering the more disabling effects of a brain injury, and actually accelerate the process of recovery after an injury.

Those interesting results came from a study conducted by Johns Hopkins researchers, who found that high school dropouts were much more likely to feel the disabling effects of a brain injury over a year after the injury occurred. In sharp contrast, persons with higher education levels were able to get over the initial effects of their injury, and were able to recover much faster over the year after the injury.

These results could be attributed to brain strengthening due to regular use. Just like the human body gets physically fitter, tougher and stronger when it is exercised, the brain also is strengthened when it is frequently put to use through learning and studying. Such a brain that has been toughened through years of studying is much more likely to recover quickly from the effects of injury.

Wearing a helmet while bicycling could be your single biggest defense against a brain injury. A helmet decreases your risk of suffering a long-term disabling injury. A brain injury can have long-term financial consequences, and these injuries are typically some of the most expensive to treat. Wearing a bicycle helmet therefore, is an inexpensive investment.

Besides, bicycle helmets are typically brightly colored, which makes you even more visible to motorists, reducing your risk of being involved in an accident.

What You Can Do to Prevent Bicycle Accidents

Most bicycle accidents are caused when a motorist fails to see a bicyclist in time to avoid an accident, or fails to yield to a bicyclist. However, that doesn’t change the fact that bicyclists can take steps to protect their own selves and reduce the risk of being involved in an accident.

If you are a novice bicyclist, it can help to take a bicycling class. The years that you spent bicycling back when you were a kid, doesn’t count. Bicycling in traffic will require knowledge of traffic safety laws, and prevention strategies. For instance, a bicycling class can help you learn avoidance strategies, and gather the kind of bicycling skills that you will need if you want to avoid being involved in dangerous situations on the road.

Novice drivers can also benefit from hanging around with other bicyclists. Join a bicycling group. This can help you learn about the different challenges that bicyclists face these days. The bicycling situation in 2014 is vastly different from that which existed back when you were a kid. California bicycle accident lawyers find that there is widespread hostility from motorists who are frustrated at what they see as encroachment by bicyclists on the road. You will need tips on how to deal with these hostile motorists, and other bicyclists can help. Besides, riding in a group may be much safer than riding alone. If you want to ride for recreation, find a bicycling group in your area.

Be aware of all traffic safety laws. Many bicyclist fail to understand that the vehicles that they are riding count as vehicles, even if they are not motorized, and are subject to traffic safety laws. Besides, if you are following all the laws, it does help your case if you are injured in an accident and want to recover compensation. You are less likely to recover compensation if you were openly flouting the law at the time of the accident.

Electrical Signals Help Paralyzed Men Move Legs

One of the most catastrophic injuries that bicyclists may be at risk of in an accident is a spinal cord injury. There is no complete cure for these injuries, which is why prevention is key. Scientists recently announced yet more success in experiments in which they used electrical signals to get men with paralyzed lower limbs, to move their legs.

Three years ago, the same group of researchers had reported using electrical devices that they used to stimulate the spinal cord in a paralyzed man, encouraging him to actually move his legs and even stand up. The same results have now been replicated in at least three other patients.

The results of the study were published recently in the British journal Brain. The researchers provide an update of the earliest patient who tried the treatment. According to the team, they have now been able to see similar successful results in at least three other men, who also tried the shock treatment.

In all the cases, the men suffered from paralysis after suffering a spinal cord injury. The paralysis left them completely unable to move from below their neck or chest for a period of at least two years.

According to the researchers, an electrical device was used to zap the injured spinal cord, and those electrical impulses encouraged the spinal cord to receive commands from the brain. The three men who had success using the device have reported that they are now able to move their legs. They can get out of the wheelchair for some amount of time, and can use an off-road utility vehicle. These were not activities that they were able to perform earlier.

However, these men still use a wheelchair to get about most of the time. In spite of this, the researchers are fairly optimistic about the manner in which this electrical device can be used in the future to provide spinal cord injury victims greater movement.