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| Photography by Micheal Oakes |
The topic of concussion is something I have been interested
in since working with rugby league, rugby union and American Football teams. Having
read the book ‘Concussion’ by Jeanne Marie Laskas (a brilliant but worrying
story) it just highlights the mistaken views of players within these sports.
I constantly have players telling me they are risk free from
concussion, due to wearing helmets or scrum caps. I am able to educate my own
player s that this is not the case.
However it can be very frustrating for professional sport medics like myself
when others believe they do offer complete protection, and then act in a
reckless fashion with their heads. What really needs to be understood is the
mechanism of concussion (see my next post).
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| Photography by Micheal Oakes |
HELMETS DO NOT PREVENT CONCUSSION!
American football has one of the highest incidences of
traumatic brain injury than all major sports, including rugby union, rugby
league and ice hockey. ‘But they wear helmets’ you might be thinking, ‘this
protect them from concussion’. WRONG!
A helmet does not
protect the skull from concussion. A helmet can help to protect the skull from
fracture and lacerations.
However, steps are being taken to look at reducing the
trauma to the brain. Riddell an American Football helmet manufacturer, is
designing helmets to aim to minimise the impact of a hit by diffusing the
energy of the hit throughout the helmet, and also using sensors inside the
helmet to alert side-line officials of possible concussions. This is all well
and good within the NFL, but at grass-roots levels, there is no way this level
of technology can be paid for.
Take a look at how these two helmets have changed over the
years…
The oldest of the two helmets (aged at roughly 18 years old)
is constructed of hard foam and a blow-up rubber inner tube.
The newest helmet (1 year old) is constructed of a
compression liner which acts a suspension system to keep the head secure while
the shell moves independently. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-T1g_-dSo4).
It’s not perfect, but it’s the start of ongoing
improvements.
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| The rubber inner-tube |
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| The old Shutt VRS4 |
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| The Xenith Epic |
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The vastly different insides of new American Football helmets.
Please remember that safety comes first! Don’t be reckless
with your head, it’s the most important part of you!
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