Originally Posted by
350htrr
Been there and done that, good luck in your recovery... It just blows my mind how some people can convince themselves that not wearing a helmet is OK... NO, better than OK, there are some people saying that wearing a helmet would actually increase your chance of having an accident and decrease your chance of surviving un-injured/less injured if you do have an accident...
I've been wearing a helmet since the '70s. However, there is no denying that in some crashes, like the one described in the OP, a helmet can make things worse. I would not be surprised if the helmet didn't contribute to the broken vertebra. I can't prove it any more than the OP or you can prove that the helmet prevented the injuries from being worse than they are. The data regarding bike helmets is still rather unconvincing for any crash other than a stationary fall.
Now, I believe there is some data showing that helmet use in motor vehicles, whose occupants have many more head/brain injuries than cyclists, would help reduce the frequency and severity of those injuries. Of course you are wearing a proper helmet when you are in a car, aren't you?