"Bleeding, life-threatening danger and even death": Following the CNN investigation, experts in Israel warn of neurological damage that can be caused by roller coasters
Beilinson Hospital recently treated a 60-year-old man who spent time with his grandchildren at an amusement park in Italy, and upon returning to Israel, doctors discovered he was suffering from a brain hemorrhage. Against the backdrop of a CNN investigation that exposed a series of severe brain injuries linked to a roller coaster in the US, including two deaths, experts in Israel are also warning. Neurologist: "A strong jolt alone can cause bleeding." "Even without a direct blow to the head, the strong jolts on a roller coaster can cause a brain hemorrhage."
Aryeh (pseudonym), a man in his 60s, recently went on vacation to Italy with his grandchildren, and during the trip decided to ride a roller coaster for the first time in his life. Shortly after getting off the ride, he began to suffer from severe headaches, but hoped they would pass on their own. A few days ago he returned to Israel, but the pains persisted. He arrived at the emergency room at Beilinson Hospital, where it turned out that he was suffering from a brain hemorrhage that is suspected to have been caused by the jolts he experienced on the roller coaster.
The case joins a series of severe brain injuries recently exposed in a CNN investigation and linked to the X2 roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain park in California. According to the investigation, for nearly two decades, more than a dozen serious injuries and hospitalizations have been reported after riding the facility, including brain hemorrhages, comas, and even deaths. Just last July, in less than a week, two women were rushed to emergency brain surgeries after riding the coaster.
Dr. Uzi Ben-David, Deputy Director of the Neurosurgery Department at Beilinson (Clalit Group), explains that even without a direct blow to the head, the strong jolts on a roller coaster can in rare cases cause a brain hemorrhage. At high speed, during sudden stops and changes of direction, the head and brain undergo very strong movements. The brain moves inside the skull, and in certain situations this movement can stretch and even tear the veins that connect the brain to the meninges. This can create a subdural hemorrhage — bleeding between the brain and its lining.
According to him, the severity of the bleeding can vary significantly. Sometimes it is a small hemorrhage, which manifests as a very severe headache. The bleeding can gradually be absorbed and the headache passes. But in other cases it can be large, press on the brain, and even lead to life-threatening danger and death. Dr. Ben-David emphasizes that the fact that there is not always a blow to the head does not rule out the possibility that the jolts cause damage: "We also see people with similar hemorrhages who do not report any significant trauma. There is a physiological basis for a strong jolt alone to cause bleeding."
Dr. Ben-David recalls another case he encountered about 20 years ago, while working in Paris, which illustrates how an extreme facility can also trigger a medical problem that was not previously known: "A woman came to us who had visited an amusement park. She had a vascular disease and a brain aneurysm that she did not know about. Immediately after getting off the ride, she collapsed and arrived at the hospital in an ambulance unconscious, after the aneurysm ruptured and caused a brain hemorrhage. In her case, the roller coaster did not create the problem, but it is possible that the jolt was the straw that broke the camel's back and caused the aneurysm to rupture."
According to him, alongside people with medical problems they are unaware of, there are other populations that should exercise extra caution. Among others, these are elderly people, usually over the age of 70, those with clotting disorders or vascular diseases, and people with problems in regulating pressure inside the skull. With age, the brain undergoes atrophy and shrinks, and blood vessels become more sensitive, so it may be more vulnerable to jolts. Also in young children, according to him, there is room for caution, partly due to body dimensions and adaptation to the facility's restraint systems.
Still, Dr. Ben-David emphasizes that this is a rare phenomenon. "There is a physiological basis for this danger. What surprises me is precisely that it happens so little," he says. "Older people sometimes get on these rides to be with their children or grandchildren, but at older ages, it is not advisable to seek physical challenges that could trigger diseases or problems we did not know about."
Dr. Ido Ben-Zvi, a senior neurosurgeon in the Neurosurgery Unit at Schneider Children's Medical Center (Clalit Group), explains that a brain injury on a roller coaster, or a brain injury in general, does not require a direct blow to the head. The problem is usually a type of concussion, of a mild or more severe degree. The head moves rapidly forward and backward on the neck, in what is sometimes called 'Whiplash'. When the movement is very fast and then stops suddenly, the brain continues to move inside the skull and can hit its walls. As a result, a concussion can occur. According to him, the more significant the forces applied to the head, the more severe the injury can be. Significant brain hemorrhages can also be created, and in severe cases, diffuse brain injury. In such situations, there can certainly be a life-threatening danger, and there are patients who require ventilation for prolonged periods.
