One thing I find particularly concerning about the many public misconceptions regarding contact sports is the belief that an expensive, top-of-the-line helmet, will significantly reduce or completely eliminate the risk of a closed-head-injury.
Many athletes, at all levels, believe that because they are wearing a fancy helmet it is safe to use their head as a battering ram. This cannot be farther from the truth. Football is such a fast-paced game that no two hits are the same and there are infinite ways a player can be tackled or brought to the ground.
With this in mind, studies show that our modern helmets are, in many ways, no more effective than the leather caps worn by players almost a hundred years ago.
This is because football helmets protect their wearers from linear force blows, while rotational force blows (those that involve the head and brain rotating on the neck due to impact) are the hits that cause concussions and other more severe closed-head injuries.
Recent research indicates that football helmets only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20% in comparison to wearing no head protection.
Additionally, the helmets that are considered to be the ‘best on the market’ for reducing the risk of a skull fracture are actually the worst at preventing concussions. This is why there are an estimated 250,000 concussions in football each year, affecting 47% of all high school football players each season; making matters worse, 35% of the 47% experience multiple concussions in a single season.
I know just as well as anyone else that these numbers are simply too high. Something must be done to decrease the number of concussions in football; we only get one brain and it is, unfortunately, often impossible to fix once badly injured.
I will continue to speak about various concussion-related topics over the next couple of weeks, and I look forward to spreading important information to the families, coaches, and friends of players along with the players themselves so that they may rethink their decision to play this dangerous sport.
As your Ohio brain injury lawyer, I’ll be there for you, and I’ll Make Them Pay!®
Author: Tim Misny | For over four decades, personal injury lawyer Tim Misny has represented the injured victim in birth injury, medical malpractice, and catastrophic injury/wrongful death cases, serving “Cleveland, Akron/Canton, Columbus, Dayton and neighboring communities.” You can reach Tim by email at misnylaw.com/ask-tim-a-question/ or call at 1 (800) 556-4769.
