A New Helmet For Football's Concussion Problem

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

That looks promising. Thanks for the info.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

I'm skeptical. Helmets and other "protection" have made football a sport unique in the world - one in which the immediate, negative consequences of using one's body as a weapon are largely erased. Advancements in helmet technology have reduced or eliminated some risks (say, skull fractures) but facilitated player behaviors that tend to increase others (e.g., paralysis from cervical spine trauma; concussions). Until players are taught to use their heads mentally in the game rather than physically, it seems to me these kinds of issues will persist irrespective of, or maybe even because of, additional improvements to helmets.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

Isaiah 63:1 said:

I'm skeptical. Helmets and other "protection" have made football a sport unique in the world - one in which the immediate, negative consequences of using one's body as a weapon are largely erased. Advancements in helmet technology have reduced or eliminated some risks (say, skull fractures) but facilitated player behaviors that tend to increase others (e.g., paralysis from cervical spine trauma; concussions). Until players are taught to use their heads mentally in the game rather than physically, it seems to me these kinds of issues will persist irrespective of, or maybe even because of, additional improvements to helmets.

Click to expand...

I agree. The ONLY real way to eliminate concussions is to eliminate the player's need and ability to hit things with his head. Football helmets are in a way just like bicycle helmets, where bicycle helmets have been shown to cause drivers to take more risks around (safer?) bicycle riders with a helmet, and bicycle riders themselves ride more dangerously with a helmet on too (I know I do!).

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

Intl.Aperture said:

So sort of like the idea of driver aids on cars, E.G. lane recognition, back-up cameras. They were invented because people weren't diligent enough to consistently check their blind spot or use blinkers - which caused auto accidents. Now that these driver aids are being added it's just going to make people even less diligent because they think the technology will keep them safer than before, causing them to, potentially, be more reckless. Is that a good comparison for what you are saying?

Click to expand...

Yes. Economists call this "moral hazard," meaning simply that by being protected to a degree from the usual, foreseeable consequences of a risk (say, by having car insurance or wearing a football helmet), one may tend to change one's behavior and take more risks.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

TIDE-HSV said:

...Also, it seems, as more research has been done, that the bulk of the damage is done by the repetitive smaller blows, as in practice, rather than the massive blows. I'm speaking of the onset of CTE symptoms...

Click to expand...

Precisely...

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

This is the one issue that causes me to rethink my love for and support of college football. Am I encouraging young men to sacrifice their future for a few hours of entertainment on Saturday afternoons -- and bragging rights throughout the year? I was glad when my LB son was neither big enough to play D1 football...for these very reasons. Am I being hypocritical when I cheer for other men's sons to do so?

Just so you know what runs through this brain occasionally...

Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs fame talks about this and has a motto, "safety fourth!" He noticed that the "safer" you make something, the less people pay attention because they think they are safe.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

Intl.Aperture said:

So sort of like the idea of driver aids on cars, E.G. lane recognition, back-up cameras. They were invented because people weren't diligent enough to consistently check their blind spot or use blinkers - which caused auto accidents. Now that these driver aids are being added it's just going to make people even less diligent because they think the technology will keep them safer than before, causing them to, potentially, be more reckless. Is that a good comparison for what you are saying?

Click to expand...

European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs -- Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and regions in Europe are giving it a try -- with good results.

"The many rules strip us of the most important thing: the ability to be considerate. We're losing our capacity for socially responsible behavior," says Dutch traffic guru Hans Monderman, one of the project's co-founders. "The greater the number of prescriptions, the more people's sense of personal responsibility dwindles."
.
.
.
The result is that drivers find themselves enclosed by a corset of prescriptions, so that they develop a kind of tunnel vision: They're constantly in search of their own advantage, and their good manners go out the window.
.
.
.
"More than half of our signs have already been scrapped," says traffic planner Koop Kerkstra. "Only two out of our original 18 traffic light crossings are left, and we've converted them to roundabouts." Now traffic is regulated by only two rules in Drachten: "Yield to the right" and "Get in someone's way and you'll be towed."

Strange as it may seem, the number of accidents has declined dramatically. Experts from Argentina and the United States have visited Drachten. Even London has expressed an interest in this new example of automobile anarchy. And the model is being tested in the British capital's Kensington neighborhood.

Click to expand...

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

I have heard (no idea if it is true or not, as I've never been) that there is a section of the Grand Canyon with fencing near the ridges and a section with none. You could walk right off the edge to certain death if you so chose. However, there are fewer accidents on the side without the fence as there are on the side with the fence because you don't have idiots taking any chances with the illusion of safety.

Again, it's something I heard recently on a radio show when the topic was about how paranoid our society has become over safety.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

cbi1972 said:

European Cities Do Away with Traffic Signs -- Are streets without traffic signs conceivable? Seven cities and regions in Europe are giving it a try -- with good results.

Click to expand...

i had to drive in central argentina once in areas with no traffic signs/signals anywhere but the main highway. i finally got someone to tell me the rule as to who has the r.o.w. at an intersection. if you come in perpendicular to the gutter, you are supposed to yield. then the guy was nice enough to also tell me, when you go to the next town over, it is the opposite.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

TIDE-HSV said:

Those were the same thoughts I was having. The only thing that would help would be to find a material which could be inserted between the dura and the brain. Nothing can take care of deceleration entirely. Also, it seems, as more research has been done, that the bulk of the damage is done by the repetitive smaller blows, as in practice, rather than the massive blows. I'm speaking of the onset of CTE symptoms...

Click to expand...

Basically, wot he said. Helmets can help prevent skull fractures, but it is rapid deceleration that causes the brain to move within the skull, thus causing concussions.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

The only solution is to take the helmets and pads off altogether and play it like the Brits and Aussies do it.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

CHATTBRIT said:

Basically, wot he said. Helmets can help prevent skull fractures, but it is rapid deceleration that causes the brain to move within the skull, thus causing concussions.

Click to expand...

Correct, but if you can create "crumple zones" within a helmet, you can have the helmet perform most of the deceleration for you. The key - the outside of the helmet has to give. That is the idea behind this design. Since the helmet gives, there is less head movement. With less head movement, the intensity of the brain/skull impacts are reduced dramatically. Of course, this only works for certain types of hits. Hits that drive the entire head to any side will still cause whiplash concussions. The only way to stop that is by strapping the helmet to the shoulder pads, which limits head mobility/vision and creates other injury risks.

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

B1GTide said:

...Hits that drive the entire head to any side will still cause whiplash concussions. The only way to stop that is by strapping the helmet to the shoulder pads, which limits head mobility/vision and creates other injury risks.

Click to expand...

Not if you model uniforms after this!




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Re: A New Helmet For Football''s Concussion Problem

Isaiah 63:1 said:

I'm skeptical. Helmets and other "protection" have made football a sport unique in the world - one in which the immediate, negative consequences of using one's body as a weapon are largely erased. Advancements in helmet technology have reduced or eliminated some risks (say, skull fractures) but facilitated player behaviors that tend to increase others (e.g., paralysis from cervical spine trauma; concussions). Until players are taught to use their heads mentally in the game rather than physically, it seems to me these kinds of issues will persist irrespective of, or maybe even because of, additional improvements to helmets.

Click to expand...

Agreed. I still believe technology can provide a viable solution to the problem, but I feel like it's only being utilized in the same vein of progress that got us here (i.e. injury prevention only). I feel technology could be used just as effectively to curb some of the bad traits that the current technology promotes/allows.

What I mean by that is, if you build a better helmet that allows people to hit or get hit harder before they're concussed, players are going to utilize that increased threshold and hit even harder than before. It's been a natural progression from no helmets, to leather helmets, to what we have today. Taking an alternate route (and granted, this is an extreme scenario) - you could require impact accelerometers in all helmets to measure forces and make that data available real-time to help asses immediate penalties (or fines after the fact). Knowing velocities and helmet orientation before impact would make it easy to evaluate the aggressor, if there is one. If there is specifically helmet-to-helmet contact above a certain threshold impact or leading with the crown or whatnot, the booth gets buzzed to evaluate. It's all software up to that point, so it's completely objective and big brother is always watching. It would also be useful during the concussion protocol evaluation to know what happened and how hard a guy was hit. This equates to a small fraction of the technology we all carry around in our phones. Seems like a no-brainer considering the price tag of these new prototypes.

If you train the players to instinctively associate helmet to helmet contact as the equivalent of mismanaging the tweezers in the old Operation board game, then I think you're taking a more effective step towards eradicating the problem. Once players start removing their heads/helmets from the equation out of habit when they go in for a tackle, you'll see a drastic drop in head injuries.