2014 Issues Analysis By Dino Nuker
Sport Safety: Should headgear be made mandatory for all contact sports?
Injuries are common in most sports that have a contact component attached. Whether it’s at a professional level, or a school level, injuries are always bound to occur in contact sport. This analysis will look into the role headgear could, should and would play, and debates whether it should be made mandatory. Olympic sports such as Ice Hockey, Bicycle Riding and Baseball are just some examples that currently require athletes to wear a form of headgear. However, Australian contact sports such as AFL and Rugby give the option for players to wear headgear for protection. In 2011, 14 year old Ben Robinson was hospitalised after being treated 3 times in a game for head blows in a rugby game . In 1994, professional boxer Bradley Stone died from head injuries whilst boxing against Richie Wenton . Examples like these show the brutality of contact sports. Because of this, my paper will look at the issue of headgear in contact sport and will particularly look at this issue at junior sports level.
Wearing headgear has many positives, reducing injuries is the most obvious one and it could be argued that its help reduces the chance of injuries and even death. At an elite level, Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech is convinced that wearing headgear saved him from suffering extended injuries after colliding with Fulham striker Orlando Sa back in September 2011. Headgear offers a form of padding when worn. It allows juniors and elite athlete’s the reduced chance of head wounds. 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...
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ASTM Sports Headgear and Helmets Standards. 2014. ASTM Sports Headgear and Helmets Standards. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.astm.org/SNEWS/NOVEMBER_2004/swart_nov04.html. [Accessed 20 March 2014].
Helmets won't cure football's concussion headache. 2014. Helmets won't cure football's concussion headache. [ONLINE] Available at:https://theconversation.com/helmets-wont-cure-footballs-concussion-headache-7483. [Accessed 20 March 2014].
Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech says headgear saved him from serious head injury against Fulham - Telegraph. 2014. Chelsea goalkeeper Petr Cech says headgear saved him from serious head injury against Fulham - Telegraph. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/chelsea/8791195/Chelsea-goalkeeper-Petr-Cech-says-headgear-saved-him-from-serious-head-injury-against-Fulham.html. [Accessed 20 March 2014].
However some people believe that Guardian Caps have no help in reducing the risk of concussions in football well they’re wrong because in the article text states that Guardian Caps have compartments padded with foam rubber that are arranged on top of helmets, and Hanson says using these compartments dissipates energy better than a solid shell. There is statistical proof that proves Guardian Caps reduce risk of head injuries. To proceed that Guardian Caps do work is that thirty-five states have schools and leagues wear at least 20 of these caps. No one would wear these caps if they didn’t work
Are young children putting their health and even their lives at risk if they partake in the sport of football? Some claim that the American sport is far too dangerous and the risk of concussions and injuries far outway the pros of the physical sport, while others insist that technological improvements and new regulations have made the sport safer. Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of history and education at New York University, argues in his paper, “We Must Stop Risking the Health of Young Football Players,” that football is a sport that is too dangerous for the youth. He states his belief that technological improvements in helmets and changes in the rules of the sport have had little effect on reducing injuries and that nothing has worked.
Thesis: Although most hockey athletes believe that by wearing required equipment keeps them safe from injury, however I believe that these regulations should be stricter because of the severity of recent and past injuries.
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
Millions of people are registered throughout North America for participation in Canada’s national sport and pastime, ice hockey. Most young hockey players have the dream of making it to the National Hockey League (NHL). Because of this incentive to keep striving towards their ultimate goal in their hockey career, they idolize the players in the NHL. Therefore, youth players may obtain certain habits from the elite, whether those habits are good or bad. Some cases are of bad influences, such as young players obtaining the dirty playing habits of the professionals. The primary action that influences the youthful population is body checking. With the thought of losing a game, it is no wonder why players have the urge to play rough and potentially hurt the opposing team in order to be victorious. For that reason, hockey is a strong collision sport that requires great skill and motivation. Although body checking is believed to be a useful tool in the winning of hockey games, it can be the cause that leads to injury among players. Because of the rougher play, lasting brain injuries are becoming a worry and too many players are exposed to the lasting effects of the head injury. According to Michael Cusimano July 22, 2003 the article entitled “Body Checking and Concussions” states, “With the rising incidence of traumatic brain injury in hockey, too many players are exposed to the lasting effects of such injuries, some of which are not fully realized until the brain completes its maturation.” For this reason, new equipment and regulations need to be devised for use in the near future.
("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.
This helmet affords no protection from the neck, spine, or certain types of brain injuries including those that may be caused by rotational forces. Severe head, brain, and spinal injuries, including paralysis or death may occur despite using this helmet.” (Boyd 213-215).
5. Dr. Margret Brooks says ““because the brain is floating freely inside the skull, I think most experts doubt whether it is possible to ever develop a helmet design that can prevent concussion.” (Healy, 2014)
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...
Helmets drastically reduce the tremendous number of deaths caused by head injuries as well as reducing the severity of any ...
In today’s world, the benefits of sports are huge. Sports are a way of teaching key skills that parents can’t such as sportsmanship, social values and many more. One of the most popular sports all over the world is soccer; hence soccer is the first sport that many children play and later on love. Within the past couple years, controversies have arisen over whether or not children should be heading the soccer ball while playing. For example, a header in soccer is when the player redirects the ball with their forehead, by taking it out of the air, to pass, or to shoot. With all the concussion prevention and media that has been centered on the NFL recently, the spotlight has turned over to soccer.
The article shares with the reader that children who join competitive sports at a young age can learn discipline and healthy habits when performed right. Jordan strongly suggests athletes, coaches and parents need to be properly educated on safe training techniques and know how to read their children when they have an injury. This way the young athletes can join in on as many sport teams as they want. Over the recent years many regulations and laws have been passed, such as The Lystedt laws that “mandate a gradual return-to-play protocol to better protect youth athletes in all sports from the risks of preventable concussions”(Jordan). This will protect the players who do decide to specialize in one sport at an early
Football is one sport that has scientists working around the clock on finding the perfect solution to help decrease concussions. Scientist, Vincent Farrara, created the Xenith X1 Helmet in 2004. Ferrara used to be a quarterback for Harv...
...field (Heads up Football | Youth Football | USA Football | Football's National Governing Body). They should all know what kind of signs to look for in the player (Heads up Football | Youth Football | USA Football | Football's National Governing Body). Joshua Alpert, M.D. Dr. Alpert says to prevent head and neck injuries never lead with the crown of the helmet (5 Most Common Football injuries (and How to Prevent Them)). This is the main reason for football today having so many head and neck injuries.