wrist guards and butt pads are very underrated. you'll be spending a lot of time falling on your ass and instinctively reaching your arms out to cushion the fall. saved me a few sprained wrists and sore cheeks when i was learning
Lots of people hurt their wrists, but lots of others can hear the instruction "don't try to catch yourself with your hands, just fall on your butt or shoulder" and then follow that instruction. Personally, as a beginner the helmet was the real lifesaver. As soon as catching my heels didn't cause me to see stars, I learned how not to catch my heels...
When you're learning, you'll catch an edge quite often and you'll fall fast and hard... a helmet is a must. If I didn't have one, I'd probably have been in the hospital at least a few times. :)
I was going recommend also wearing a mouthguard, because I've always felt like they reduced the head trauma I experience if I fell, but a quick literature search indicates that their efficacy for that purpose may not be well-validated. :/
I'll need to try that next time. I've had some really hard spills, and the sound/feeling of teeth clacking together as my head (always in a helmet) hit the ground was definitely the most disconcerting aspect of the fall.
Exactly. When I plowed into a tree trunk, I had my board broken in half and speed wasn't even close to 60. Scary to think that it might have been my spine