Overview
Curling is a competitive sport for all ages that requires strength, agility, balance, and skill. Since the 1998 Winter Olympics, curling has been an official Olympic sport. The World Curling Federation has seen huge growth in popularity recently, now comprising of 75 member countries, and is an especially well-established element of Canadian and Scottish sporting identity.
Curling is played on ice. The object of the game is to slide a 20-kilogram granite stone on an ice sheet so that it comes to rest as close as possible to a target. Two teams, each made up of four members, alternate strategic throwing of these rocks. Team members alter the course of the stone by using brushes to sweep and thus melt the ice around the stone to reduce friction. There are many opportunities for head injury when curling, given the slippiness of the ice is exploited in the game. Yet head protection is not traditionally used in curling.
Brain injury in curling is more common thaN you may suspect
Almost a third (31.7%) of injuries in curling are head impacts [1]. This figure is likely to be underestimated as head injuries are not specifically reported in competitive curling, and the risk of head injury is considered higher within the recreational curling population. This especially so for beginners, who are less comfortable with sliding on the ice and at higher risk of uncontrolled falls.
Importantly, the consequences of a head injury in curling can be severe and life-changing.
How do head impacts in curling injure the brain?
Concussion
Also known as “mild” Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI), concussion is caused by a single impact to the head from falling on the the ice, and temporarily impairs brain function. The impact to the head creates abnormally strong rotational forces to the brain, causing damage to brain nerve cells and the shearing of brain cells.
A concussion can cause both short-or long-term physical, cognitive, social, and emotional symptoms. These changes may lead to problems with memory, communication, personality changes, and sleep disruption, as well as depression.
All concussions are serious and can be potentially life-changing. Concussion symptoms may settle after a short time, but may persist over two to four weeks on a gradually-diminishing basis. Yet changes in white matter, brain connections and blood flow can persist a year or more after a concussion.
The largest longitudinal study has found those experiencing three or more concussions have worse brain function in later life, with attention and completion of complex tasks particularly affected. Those who had four or more concussion episodes also showed worsened processing speed and working memory. Each additional reported concussion was linked to progressively worse cognitive function. Even just one concussion can have a long-term impact on brain function, including memory [2].
Watch: Curler, Rob Packham, talks about his curling accident and why he wears Halos®.
Diffuse Axonal Injury
Impacts to the brain can cause damage that is both immediate and delayed over hours and days (blood flow changes or neural inflammation). This results in Diffuse Axonal Injury (DAI).
Symptoms of DAI vary depending on the extent and location of the injury. Some common symptoms include:
- Loss of consciousness or coma
- Persistent headache
- Confusion and disorientation
- Nausea and vomiting
- Seizures
- Motor issues such as weakness or loss of coordination
- Cognitive and behavioural changes
DAI is caused by rotational injury to the brain and causes mechanical damage to axons throughout the white matter of the brain. Axons are essential, as they allow different parts of the brain to communicate and are needed for higher intellectual function e.g., controlling behaviours.
DAI is responsible for the majority of cognitive deficits seen after “mild” traumatic brain injury, and is particularly responsible for difficulty with thinking, memory and information processing. DAI is not fatal, but the damage caused is cumulative.
DAI can have serious long-term effects, including cognitive and physical disabilities such as:
- Memory problems
- Difficulty with attention and concentration
- Motor coordination problems
- Personality changes
While DAI does not necessarily shorten life expectancy, the associated disabilities can significantly impact a person’s quality of life. DAI can severely impact those affected and their loved ones, not only in the short-term, but over the many years it can take to rehabilitate.
Curling players can do more to reduce brain injuries through wearing brain protection so they can continue playing the game they love. This is particularly a consideration for younger curlers. Between ages 8-12 is when peak development of the brain occurs, but the brain continues to develop through the refinement and rearrangement of brain pathways and connections until early 20s. Younger curlers are more vulnerable to brain injury, and their brains undergo noticeable changes after head impacts.
Inadequate / illegal curling headwear products on the UK and EU market
All head protection must be tested and certified as Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Regulation (PPE Directive (EU) 2016/425) before being legally sold in the UK and Europe.
It must carry the CE and or UKCA mark to be legally placed on the market in the UK and Europe. This is regardless of any other ‘approvals’ offered by sporting bodies or standards used for testing. The PPE must be accompanied by a Declaration of Conformity, or a web address where this can be viewed. It is illegal to place any protective headwear on the UK and European product market for sale without certification and the correct category given the risk.
This is important for curling clubs and coaches to know because where a duty of care is owed, they must show due diligence in exercising that duty. Ignorance of the law is no defence, so where clubs and coaches are providing and or promoting equipment to those within its care described as ‘protective’ in the belief that it will be worn to provide any form of protection against one or more hazards, the minimum legal requirements for that protective equipment must be met i.e. PPE Regulation 2016/425.
Failure to ensure products used for protection comply with the PPE Regulation 2016/425 could leave a club or a coach criminally liable for injuries received because of wearing uncertified protective equipment, and the insurer may then be in a position to refuse responsibility for any related claim.
At present, there are quite a lot of headwear products used in curling in the UK and Europe that are not certified as PPE, or with correct category II PPE status given their claims, or issued with a Type Examination Certificate or accompanied by a Declaration of Conformity (or web address to find it), that makes clear claims of protection. Such products should be avoided, and their continuing use by a club for the protection of its players will not demonstrate their duty of care and may leave them open to both civil and criminal action.
Rezon Halos® is the only legal headband proven to protect in the UK and Europe in curling.
Rezon Halos®: Protecting Your Brain in Sport
Halos® is a groundbreaking sports headband that protects the brain. It’s the only headgear of its kind that is designed to reduce your risk of concussion and developing Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) from the accumulated damage of sub-concussions.
Why Halos®?
- Reduces concussion risk by 74%*
- Reduces rotational force to the brain by up to 61%, and linear force by up to 64%*
- Sleek, lightweight, flexible and hypoallergenic
- Water and tear-resistant
- Internationally recognised Virginia Tech 5 star safety rating
- The only CE/UKCA Category II PPE-certified protective headband – the UK and EU legal standard for protective headwear
*based on independent testing
As seen in
Rezon’s answer to brain protection in Curling
The brain is at risk with every head impact sustained in curling.
In every head impact in curling there are rotational forces present; these cause the brain to rotate inside the skull. This is associated with the tearing of tiny blood vessels and brain cells, resulting over time in the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier and the creation of damaging neuro-inflammation. Reducing rotational forces to the brain is essential to lower the risk of neuro-inflammation.
Rezon offers every curler brain protection. Halos®, created by Rezon is a protective headband which reduces rotational forces by up to 61%.
- Injuries in recreational curling include head injuries and may be prevented by using proper footwear, DK Ting, RJ Brison, 2015
- Lifetime Traumatic Brain Injury and Cognitive Domain Deficits in Late Life: The PROTECT-TBI Cohort Study. Matthew J. Lennon, Helen Brooker, Byron Creese, Tony Thayanandan, Grant Rigney, Dag Aarsland, Adam Hampshire, Clive Ballard, Anne Corbett, and Vanessa Raymont, 2023.
