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Thrill seekers told of health concerns

Roller-coaster rides could do more than scare you, they could cause serious neck injuries.

A young woman broke one of her cervical vertebra on a roller coaster last month, but luckily, she was not paralyzed.

The accident occurred when the 26-year old woman, surnamed Lin, visited the Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village (九族文化村) in Nantou County during the Lunar New Year holiday.

Lin said she heard a cracking sound in her neck as the roller- coaster twisted at high speed and she immediately felt a strong pain and the right-hand side of her body went numb.

She was sent to a local hospital as soon as she got off the ride, where a doctor told her she had simply bruised her head and gave her some painkillers.

But after suffering a severe headache after going home, Lin went to the Buddhist Taichung Tzu Chi Hospital for a more thorough examination the next day.

Neurosurgeon Chen Tzu-yung (陳子勇) at the Tzu Chi Hospital discovered that the first and second joints of Lin's cervical vertebra were fractured.

He told Lin she needed an immediate operation to fix the damage with artificial bones and steel rods.

The operation has left Lin with a 10cm-long scar as well as limited neck mobility. She can only turn her neck at 45-degree angles.

Lin said she did not blame Formosan Aboriginal Cultural Village for her injury and would not seek compensation.

Doctors said car accidents are the most common cause of injuries such as Lin's and it was rare to receive it during a roller-coaster ride.

They said the joints of Lin's cervical vertebra might not be as close as they are in other people and that Lin might not have been sitting back against the roller- coaster seat.

They also said such accidents are often caused by people's carelessness or by people being in poor physical condition.

The doctors said people could suffer concussions if their heads hit the bars during roller-coaster rides or other high-speed rides.

If people's necks are not well-protected, they might twist their necks and hurt their cervical vertebrae, the physicians said.

They said people could choke on water when riding log flumes or other rides that plunge straight down a vertical waterfall, while parachuting and bungee-jumping could cause heart attacks, epileptic attacks and other problems.

Doctors warned that people with brain tumors or those who have had brain surgery should not participate in such activities, because of the pressure that could be put on the brain, which could cause a stroke.

Asked whether amusement parks should erect signs warning people with health conditions to avoid stressful or physically challenging rides, a Yamay Resort (月眉育樂世界) representative said that the resort would be glad to do so.
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