This week the Maine skiing community is mourning the tragic death of a young skier at Sugarloaf last weekend.

The athlete, who was a talented racer and a student at Carrabassett Valley Academy, was skiing when he reportedly hit an object off the side of a trail on Saturday. This terrible accident has turned our community’s thoughts to the dangers of skiing.

In my previous column I discussed the importance of helmets in protecting skiers. It makes good sense for everyone to wear helmets, not just younger or more inexperienced skiers.

Our understanding of the safety benefits of helmets came from the ski racing community, which has embraced helmets for years. Now it’s time for us to take another cue from their practices.

Most skiers and riders have never heard of spine protectors but they’re worth checking out.

Sports will always carry a risk of mishaps such as fractures and ligament damage, but those injuries can be healed. Basically, there are only a few ways to become seriously injured while skiing, primarily when the head is injured, when there is massive trauma to the chest or when the neck or spine is fractured.

Back protection long has been an essential part of racers’ equipment on the World Cup and other international skiing circuits. While the units were once bulky and expensive, their design has improved and new materials make these devices lighter and stronger.

Most back protectors are designed to be worn under a skier’s clothing. They fit with straps and a belt like a backpack or have their components integrated into a vest that an athlete can just zip on. Most are made with armor and padding that follows the natural curvature of the spine and moves with the athlete.

When a skier or rider falls, the spine protector does its job. Its hard surface dissipates impact while it supports the spinal column and prevents the kind of extreme motions that can lead to bones and ligaments snapping.

Spine protection is particularly important for any Alpine athlete who moves fast, such as racers or skiers who spend a lot of time landing jumps.

World-class spine protectors cost about what a good helmet does and a lot less than a trip to the operating room with a spine surgeon. Using them is a no-brainer in my book.

I just returned from working with our U.S. ski team athletes at a World Cup race in Switzerland. All of our skiers use spine protection. And you know something interesting? The recreational skiers in Europe do, too.

One day as we were getting ready to leave the lodge, a group of college-age snowboarders came in and unpacked. Each was sporting his own back protector.

This from a ski culture in which the mountain huts don’t have electricity or running water and the accordion is still a major part of the after-skiing entertainment.

It seems to me that if Europeans can adopt smart habits about protecting their spines, it’s high time we do, too.

Dr. James Glazer is a sports medicine physician for Coastal Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Freeport. He serves as a consultant for the Portland Pirates and the U.S. ski team.