What's the beef with protective gear?

[Luke Girgis]

So AFL is one of the few highly physical sports in the world where the players don't generally wear anymore more than a mouth gaurd for protection. Does anyone know why this is?

I'm not suggesting we end up like the NFL but something like a soft helmet would help us prevent concussion and a maybe rib guards to prevent the bruised/broken ribs that happen every contested marking situation.

As a player I have used both when instructed from time to time and I didnt feel either restricted my movement, vision etc....so short of asthetics or macho, I'm not sure why professional players don't use them? After all, their health is their income.

Am I missing something or is it just a culture thing? Bragging rights to other codes doesn't seem worth the injuries in my opinion.

 

[the_slurpee_man]

fair points.. the head is a tough one to fix, but i like the suggestion about the ribs getting protected. Im sure there is some sort of advanced technology out there to protect this part of the body without slowing down the player.

 

[Shane Hird]

Helmets make the head too hot in our game...what with all the running and all.

Padding restricts freedom of movement...what with all the running, evading, tackling, jumping etc..

 

[thegrach]

So AFL is one of the few highly physical sports in the world where the players don't generally wear anymore more than a mouth gaurd for protection. Does anyone know why this is?

I'm not suggesting we end up like the NFL but something like a soft helmet would help us prevent concussion and a maybe rib guards to prevent the bruised/broken ribs that happen every contested marking situation.

As a player I have used both when instructed from time to time and I didnt feel either restricted my movement, vision etc....so short of asthetics or macho, I'm not sure why professional players don't use them? After all, their health is their income.

Am I missing something or is it just a culture thing? Bragging rights to other codes doesn't seem worth the injuries in my opinion.

Helmets have been proven not to prevent concussion, and can in fact cause more instances of it. Concussion usually occurs when the brain collides with the inside of the skull which helmets cannot help, but the study also found that people who wear helmets would take more risks in regard to head trauma.

 

[Kaiser Powser]

I honestly think the only reason players don't wear helmets are aesthetic reasons and vanity.

Madness that players are so often concussed, miss matches, some having brain issues, yet not one player in the comp wears a helmet AFAIK.

The club doctors should make the Selwoods wear them.

 

[half_back_flank]

I honestly think the only reason players don't wear helmets are aesthetic reasons and vanity.

Madness that players are so often concussed, miss matches, some having brain issues, yet not one player in the comp wears a helmet AFAIK.

The club doctors should make the Selwoods wear them.

Players don't wear helmets because they don't do anything to prevent concussion.

 

[Kcrack]

Helmets make the head too hot in our game...what with all the running and all.

Padding restricts freedom of movement...what with all the running, evading, tackling, jumping etc..

This.

As a matter of fact, even the shorts and singlets look a little restricting, I wouldn't mind it if the players just ran around in their jocks.

 

[Shane Hird]

This.

As a matter of fact, even the shorts and singlets look a little restricting, I wouldn't mind it if the players just ran around in their jocks.

No *h##o?

*(blanked out for PC reasons)

 

[Wallaby]

Mouthguards are better protection against concussion than most sporting helmets (true). Helmets protect against fractures and getting your head split open. They can offer neck protection as well.

If you want a helmet to prevent concussion, it's got to be at least one of those fully padded boxing helmets - and those are only partly useful.

 

[Cmarsh]

Helmets make the head too hot in our game...what with all the running and all.

Padding restricts freedom of movement...what with all the running, evading, tackling, jumping etc..

Exactly. We don't have the luxury of having a rest for 30 seconds after each 4 second play.

 

[Shane Hird]

Players don't wear helmets because they don't do anything to prevent concussion.

No that's not true.

Helmets make the head over-heat. And dehydration is a footballer's worse nightmare.

Blokes who wear them want to reduce the risk of damage if they get hit in the head. And there's usually a past incident of a head knock that makes them decide to put up with uncomfortable hotness of wearing a helmet.

 

[Luke Girgis]

Helmets make the head over-heat. And dehydration is a footballer's worse nightmare.

This is something I didnt consider, cheers.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

Soft helmets don't prevent concussion which is caused by brain rattle. They might prevent head cuts, but that's about it. The indication is that the helmets worn in the NFL contribute to more concussions as they lead with the head even more, and they're seeing evidence of symptoms similar to pugilistic dementia you see in boxers. So while it might prevent skull fractures, the brain is still rattling around in the skull when hit. So in the NFL they might be a little more careful with their heads if they didn't have the helmet on.

As for ribs or upper body/internal injuries, I'm not sure they're that common or severe to warrant protection, though there's a couple of famous cases like Tom Lonergan & Sam Newman, and some punctured lungs along the way.

If someone could come up with something to prevent ACL ruptures, that would be worth wearing.

 

[half_back_flank]

No that's not true.

Helmets make the head over-heat. And dehydration is a footballer's worse nightmare.

Blokes who wear them want to reduce the risk of damage if they get hit in the head. And there's usually a past incident of a head knock that makes them decide to put up with uncomfortable hotness of wearing a helmet.

Helmets do nothing to prevent concussion because it doesn't do anything to stop the brain rattling.

If anything they are counter productive because they give players a false sense of security that can cause them to place themselves in situations they wouldn't usually based to the misguided view that the helmet will protect them.

 

[Kermit D]

I thought it was the "brain rattle" that caused concussion wasn't it? Padded helmets wouldn't do a whole lot to remedy that. I remember reading somewhere that boxing gloves increased injuries because it turned an often glancing blow into a blunt force. Anyone know if there's any truth to that?

 

[calyam]

If anything they are counter productive because they give players a false sense of security that can cause them to place themselves in situations they wouldn't usually based to the misguided view that the helmet will protect them.

It's pretty much this. The more protection a player thinks he has the more reckless he will become. Helmets are the most obvious example of that effect.

If you removed all the padding from NFL games there would not suddenly be a huge spike in injuries, the players would simply be less reckless.

 

[hench]

 

[Belnakor]

If someone could come up with something to prevent ACL ruptures, that would be worth wearing.

like you know.. a brace?

 

[Bender571]

Clubs don't want they're players injured, so if it worked they'd forced they're players to use it.

I thought it was the "brain rattle" that caused concussion wasn't it? Padded helmets wouldn't do a whole lot to remedy that. I remember reading somewhere that boxing gloves increased injuries because it turned an often glancing blow into a blunt force. Anyone know if there's any truth to that?

I had heard it was because it made punching easier on the hand, so it could be continued for longer

 

[Agent93]

A problem with a lot of protective guards on the market is the outer surface is hard, which basically allows the wearer to use them as a hammer.

Truly useful guards would reduce the moment in impact, much like a crumple zone in a car. This greatly lessens, and spreads the force of an impact meaning the body part has less energy to deal with, much like the passenger cage in a car.

The problem with AFL is that many, if not most, of the head hits happen to the front portion of the skull. This is the region likely to be left uncovered by a helmet anyway - which renders helmets nearly useless.

 

[Top_4_Tiger]

In the NFL, everytime they improve the safety gear - players become more vicious and use it to their advantage.

It's a constant cycle of pushing yourself to the limit for the win and using whatever gear you can to allow you to go another 5% harder and faster.

 

[autocol]

If someone could come up with something to prevent ACL ruptures, that would be worth wearing.

The existing knee braces are way too bulky (and dangerous for other players), but I'm genuinely surprised no one has:

1. Used a 3D scanner to scan the player's knee area.
2. Used a 3D printer to print a mold based on the scan.
3. Laid up a carbon-fibre brace that's almost skin tight, which restricts knee movement to only the areas you WANT it to move.

Yeah, they'd probably cost $10K each to begin with, but if a player is on $300K a year and loses 12 months to an ACL... that's pretty cheap insurance, really.

 

[Cosmic Energy]

like you know.. a brace?

Like helmets & concussion, there is no medical evidence that the current braces prevent ACL ruptures in healthy knees, but might do something to protect previously damaged knees. They probably haven't been extensively trialled either.

 

[Balance]

You can't do anything above the shoulders, can't push in the back, sides or front, gotta have eyes on the ball, gotta be careful when a player drops his knees, can't sling tackle, can't do anything when a player doesn't have the ball, can't kick in danger, can't fend off dangerously, so protection is probably not as much of a concern as we might think.

Don't get me wrong, I'd love to see some players decked out in batman gear like Petr Cech once did: