Posted
Roller coasters are not bad for the brain after all, says a University of Pennsylvania study. Researchers calculated the effects of riding three of the nation's mega-coasters and found that the forces experienced by the head are not nearly enough to cause brain injury. The study comes after anecdotal reports of dozens of people, including eight who died, who suffered burst blood vessels, bleeding, and nerve damage in the brain around the time they rode a roller coaster.
Read more from The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The issue about self selecting participants isn't particuarly salient here, since any riders used in research are likely to be representative of those who would have ridden anyway. Whether studies that just take measurements of acceleration forces inherent in a ride are readily generalisable to the healthy populus depends upon the stability of the brain's tolerance to acceleration forces over such variables as age, sex etc.....
As for the study refuting the findings of the Penn study, well, it seems hard to believe that they would contend that speed per se is the ride attribute that could be responsible for causing neurophysiological damage. Sounds like an quote taken out of context.
*** This post was edited by BeyondOblivion on 10/17/2002. ***
Now I really don't know how possible it is for a person with a pre existing anurism to know they have it but Im possitive that no park or ride manufacture would create something that would intentionally bring about bodily harm. It's self defeteing!
Have rides cause injuries before? Yes! Is it intentional? Unless it is shoddy maintence I would say no. For the most part ride injuries are the result of a pre existing condition or people not following the rules.
Rideman pointed out Face Off. OMG, If high G's or accelleration caused this stuff im sure that ride would be at the top of the list.
Should rides be built safe? Yes! And for the most part I think they are. Like I said, it's self defeting to build something that would injure people both for the parks and the ride manufacture.
I mean a man broke his neck on Son of Beast but at least has the balls to admit he has a spinal degeneration problem that was pre existing. That is not following the rules of clearly posted and audio warnings!
Chuck
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Charles Nungester.
Is it about coasters or friends? I say both!
BeyondOblivion:
The research done here determined the forces that riders are exposed to. It was probably done with test dummies, not actual riders. (It's hard to bury an accelerometer in the head of an actual rider.)
Self selection amoung amusement park attendees would determine how vulnerable riders are to having a brain injury whether it's caused by the ride or not. Self selection doesn't determine the forces that the riders are exposed to.
I found some head banging on RnR, but nothing to approach some of the Premiers before mods, Drachen Fire, or even some SLCs.
Jim,
Indeed!! There are many other factors that are not controlled for! My point about the self selecting sample concerned the generalisability of results from this methodology, which are often criticised for not being representative of the populus as a whole. This would not be so important in any coaster study involving real humans, as opposed to test dummies, since one does not want the results to apply to the populus as a whole, just those who would elect to go on such rides.
Self selection doesn't determine the forces that the riders are exposed to.
Indeed, but it might have implications for the physical consequences of the forces generated by a ride. If, for example, a seasoned rider gets on a ride, they are likely to not hold onto the restraints and might have their head jarred against the headrest/restraint during a rapid change in the coasters attitude. An inexperienced rider is likely to hold on for dear life and can exert forces via their arms and legs to restrict headbanging etc.....
Personally, I don't believe for one minute that coasters are nearly violent enough to induce neurophysiological problems in healthy individuals that don't brace themselves on the roughest coasters. However, bracing certainly helps the ride comfort factor in my experience! :) A coaster might be one way of aggravating an existing condition, but there are many others: like straining on the toilet....Think about that next time you turn down that bowl of high fibre cereal for bacon and eggs! :)
As for roughnest rides: Verkoma inverters stand up and take a bow! ;)
I just saw an article aout this on the frot page of a newspaper in Rock Island, IL. If you've never heard of it, don't worry. My point is, we're hundreds of miles away frm the nearest roller coaster, yet this study gets front page recognition! I think this research is getting the publicity it deserves.
Sadly, they ended the article with a rebuttal from scientists clining to the original findings. I know they had to include that, but did it have to be the last sentence? Sigh...
I thought the same thing, especially when I read this carefully worded sentence:
Using design data for the three coasters, the researchers calculated head accelerations in three directions, assuming the head did not hit something, and determined that the forces affecting the head were not nearly enough to cause brain trauma. (emphasis added)
I love for them to do this same study on Viper and GASM @ SFGAdv. They *might* come up with some different results.
lata,
jeremy
--who, only in his dreams, thinks such a study could lead to the death of all OTSRs
Mattayman said:
Riding RollerCoasters is alot safer than riding in a car, a plane, and even using a toothpick.
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RubberDucky is mine.
How about using a toothpick on a roller coaster?
=) I have an on-ride photo of myself flossing on a coaster. I think it was magnum, but I can't find the picture now.
Anyway, back on topic. There was a nice little blurb about this study on the front cover of the 'health and fitness' section of the New York Daily News the other day. It had a nice picture of the Coney Island Cyclone. Sure, I would have liked a big front-page headline, but I guess this'll have to do.
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it's not my birthday.
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