Modern Helmets vs. Improved Helmets Several sports entertainment shows, sports magazines, and parents are questioning the design of football helmets. Although helmets are used to minimize the level of impact to the brain as a football player is hit, brain injuries are still present. Guskiewicz, an athletic trainer, stated at the National Athletic Trainer's Association convention, “A modern helmet can lessen the effect of a straight-ahead, 'linear' impact, but cannot do much to prevent the effects of the head rotating from the impact” (NFL). Improved helmet design helps reduce concussions in impact sports, but it is impossible to design a helmet that eliminates concussion, according to a panel of sports science professors outlining the latest …show more content…
As the game is intensifying, the players are hitting harder. Since the players are hitting harder, the helmets are still causing concussion at the same rate as when the helmets were not improved. This is causing parents and football coaches to sue because of the negative effects of the helmets. Players are still getting brain injuries even though the helmets have improved. “Helmets prevent some of the forces, but not to the degree that's required or would be required to manage the energy for preventing concussion” (NFL). “No helmet protects any part of the body that it does not cover”, so even if the head injury is avoided a player may have a smushed face, broken nose, or worse …show more content…
The weight of the improved helmet is heavier than modern helmets; helmets should be light-weight. Not only does the neck have the weight of a lineman, but also the weight of the helmet causing more damage to the neck. Chris Borland, who plays for San Francisco 49ers, stated, “From what I've researched and what I've experienced, I don’t think it's worth the risk. I just want to live a long, healthy life, and I don't want to have neurological diseases or die younger than I would otherwise.” “Football helmets certainly help to mitigate forces that are distributed by impact to the skull, the intracranial cavity, and the brain, but the brain is still going to move inside the cranial cavity regardless of whether the is improved or not” (NFL). With or without the improvements there is still going to be a small percentage of players who could be diagnosed with any neurological diseases because of the severity of a hit or design of a
The average NFL player takes up to 1,000 blows to the head throughout their football career. Some of those blows can have the force of a sledgehammer (“RealNatural”). Based on a research study by Dr. Jesse David, there were 265 concussions reported in the 2012 season, during the 2011 season there were 266 concussions, and 270 concussions in 2010 season (Kacsmar). It has been known that repeated blows to the head can cause long-term brain damage since at least the 1950’s, long before most of the NFL players had begun their careers (“RealNatural”). Past infractions of the NFL have already resulted in over 4,500 forme...
By this it means it allows for less “cracked skulls”, scars, wounds and so on. It gives a stronger protection on the softer part of the skull which is more prone to damage... ... middle of paper ... ... arch 2014]. ASTM Sports Headgear and Helmets Standards.
For the safety of the players in the present and future, a stricter concussion protocol should be required at all levels of football. Though improvements have been made, the game of football is constantly changing and the protocol needs to keep up with the changes. Today’s athletes are bigger, stronger, and faster than ever before: "Size and physical conditioning techniques in sports at all levels have evolved to create an intense athlete. They 're able to create more force, power and speed than ever before and that leads to harder hits and a greater number of hits" (Neporent). These advances in training have led to a more dangerous sport. The protocol has improved in recent years along with an emphasis on player safety, but the increasing numbers of players with long-term effects of concussions show there is still work to be done.
Football is a sport your mother warns you not to play, but your father is on the other side of the argument, encouraging you to do it because it is a “man’s game”. Even though you don’t want ruin your manhood, your mother is always right. Football is in the top three of most injuries caused in sports (HEALTH GRADES, INC) and a majority of it comes from concussions. A concussion is a temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head. Football helmets are used to prevent that from happening and is still a battle today on creating the perfect helmet to protect these young athletes. The football helmet has undergone significant transformation during the evolution of the game. To find out how this important head gear came to be, you have to
Mihoces, Gary. “More padding the issue of concussions and better helmets.” USA Today Sports. 23 August 2013. Web. 29 November 2013.
Concussions, a minor traumatic brain injury that may occur when the head hits an object, are a huge problem in football in high schools and lower levels today. Concussions are very common in football, concussions have a huge negative effect on the brain, and parents and schools are worried about their kids safety. Concussion, in football, are a rising problem especially since the NFL is being sued for hundreds of millions because of concussions. High School football is very violent on children and thats why it is losing some participants.
First, the rules that are enforced are a great way of making the game safe for the players. There are rules like, not being allowed to tackle certain ways. For example, if you tackle someone from the back by pulling them, then that is said to be an illegal tackle. It is also said that it is illegal for someone to pull on others facemask when tackling. There are many others rules that are enforced in the game. Another one is the rule that says, Head to Head is not allowed. What that basically is that you cannot tackle someone by contacting your helmet to the opposing player. This rule makes it greatly safe because it reduces the numbers of injuries that occur to the head and the neck. The head is the key part of the human body. When someone hits another player with the helmet in the head, it reduces the risks of concussion and that can result to serious and severe body failures, including being...
("N.F.L. Players’ Union Weighs the Benefits and the Pitfalls of Helmet Sensors. This technology helps prevent a player with a concussion that he doesn’t know about from continuing to play during that game and cause more damage to his head that can last forever. Another good advancement is helmets that have a design that uses energy-managing materials and a facemask attachment system that disperses energy from frontal impacts. This helps prevent the head from taking the main part of the blow and disperses the energy to lessen the likelihood of becoming seriously injured from a hit. These types of helmets have a certain shelf life meaning you can only use them for so many years before they have to be replaced, this is beneficial so that the equipment stays up to the new standards of safety for the players as well as prevents them from becoming stressed over the years and breaking.
The number of concussions in professional and amateur football has been rising and has sparked much controversy in recent years. These concussions are most likely linked with disease and even the deaths of some pro and semi-pro football players. New research is attempting to solve the problem but the issue is still prevalent in football today.
Concussions occur regularly on the football field and have always been an injury associated with football. They occur at all levels from little league to the NFL. One of the earliest reported concussion...
...grams such as bigger, faster and stronger, there is no way that we can stop concussions from happening. I still watch and love football today but some part of me doesn’t think the defensive game is the same merely because of concussions. Although I think football should still be played in today society, a lot of people are viewing the game differently because of concussions. I disagree with hurting players, but some of the calls made this year dealing with tackling have made my mouth drop several times. Concussions effects on big hits, big plays, and defensive game style have changed the NFL for the worse. I understand that refs have to make what they see right calls, but in many cases players perform perfect technique and still get penalized. Although the NFL game is played at a high level, I believe concussions have taken some of the intensity away from players.
The brute force of the game is what draws millions of people around to the world to come and watch. However, what millions of Americans don't see if the consequences of what makes the game how great it is today, the hits. With players getting bigger faster and stronger it only leaves players in more danger of getting injured. Concussions are one of the most common injuries among NFL players mainly because of the constant contact, and how the design of the helmet is to protect against major head injuries, not concussions. CTE is common in many NFL players, and most former NFL players. A study by the national institute for Occupational safety and health found that, “the brain tissue of 59 of 62 deceased former NFL players tested positive for CTE” also when studying, “the causes of death of 3,439 former NFL players concluded they were three times as likely as the general population to die from degenerative brain diseases,such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's”(Karaim). However there has been remarkable facts on how CTE has been found in NFL players more commonly than any other sport the NFL refuses to acknowledge that there is any correlation between player who played professional football and CTE. Because of this direct correlation of football and CTE many players are unable to work of fully function after their career as a professional
Even though the devastation of concussions is just rising to the surface, they have always been around. In 1994, the NFL started a committee called the MTBI (Mild Traumatic Brain Injury). Dr. Elliot Pellman was appointed as chair, and he was quoted saying, “We think the issue of knees, of drugs and steroids and drinking is a far greater problem, according to the number of incidents” (Ezell). This quote shows how concussions did not hold much importance, even though it should have been the committee's main focus. This is ironic, because in today’s sport world concussions are a highly talked about topic. They hold such significance that some rules are even being changed to lower the risk for players.
Helmets have not always been around for as long as sports have been. Due to the use of helmets in various sports they have helped protect many athletes by preventing injuries or reducing the severity of them. Helmets have become such a necessity for many sports because as sports change, the design of helmets also need to change to make sure athletes keep their brain in tact. Football, hockey, cycling and
While the use of helmets does aid in protecting players from brain trauma, they also increase the risky behavior of players; this is called risk compensation. Risk compensation is the adjustment of individual behavior, responding to the perceived changes in risk (TheFreeDictionary.com). Most people that wear helmets have a pre-conceived idea that, because they have a helmet on, they can possess more daring behaviors and be fine. The helmet is basically thought of as a tool to hit harder, or improve performance in today’s culture. Adventure writer and pilot, Lane Wallace (2011) accurately understands the dangers of helmets being used incorrectly, and how they are used as weapons instead of safety. Wallace also theorizes like the NFL, a change in football culture and of viewpoints towards helmets would vastly reduce trauma to the