Will Helmets make a comeback?

[Gen Y]

Source? I totally disagree and as far as I'm aware there is no evidence provided which supports that theory. The only studies I've seen in fact directly contradict such a finding.


Excuse me but 10mm all round equates to a 20mm diameter increase. Fire a 20mm larger projectile through a forrest and you proportionaltely increase the likelihood of striking wood. Simple maths.

Source is pretty basic physics. You will find supporting evidence in any Physics textbook. Increase the time of the collision via padding, and the force is decreased. Glancing blows that shear the edge of the helmet which would otherwise have missed aren't going to cause concussion.

 

[Bulldog1954]

Years ago I got knocked out 3 times in 14 games. I was told that helmets were pretty much useless (club made me wear one for a while anyway)

They are horrible to wear, very uncomfortable and you feel so hot in them

 

[PieNSauce]

Source is pretty basic physics. You will find supporting evidence in any Physics textbook. Increase the time of the collision via padding, and the force is decreased. Glancing blows that shear the edge of the helmet which would otherwise have missed aren't going to cause concussion.

Like I said, nobody has provided any solid evidence in the form of any scientifically conducted study to show that helmets reduce the likelihood of concussion. You can put up theory after theory but thus far the only evidence provided supports the opposite theory.

 

[pazza]

Well Rod Ashman, a man known for his wearing of the helmet in his fine career, reckons they are of benefit.

 

[the distributer]

I've heard helmuts can give you a false sense of security, meaning you'll be even more reckless in certain circumstances, they will protect your head but the rest of your/opponants body will be at a higher risk of injury, just what i heard, ive never worn one TBH.

 

[blue healer]

Mollyfud is completely correct - and as someone so eloquently put it its the brain 'sloshing' around in the skull after impact that does the damage and helmets make little/no difference to the 'sloshing'. Boxers wear helmets and still wind up 'punch drunk' (post-concussive syndrome). The only way to go close to avoiding this serious injury is no head contact and to severely punish offenders - a couple of serious suspensions will make a difference IMO.

Last time I looked only amateur boxers wear headgear and not too many of them suffer brain damage until they turn pro and consistently get the crap knocked out of them without it.

 

[Gen Y]

Like I said, nobody has provided any solid evidence in the form of any scientifically conducted study to show that helmets reduce the likelihood of concussion. You can put up theory after theory but thus far the only evidence provided supports the opposite theory.

Sorry, but can you show me the scientifically conducted study to show that gravity exists?

The 'theory' of increasing time during collisions is the KEY CONCEPT involved in all vehicle safety improvements. The beauty of physics is that you can use it to predict things like airbags and seat belts and padding will reduce injury, without needing to conduct a scientific study ramming a few hundred animals into a wall.

 

[blue healer]

I've heard helmuts can give you a false sense of security, meaning you'll be even more reckless in certain circumstances, they will protect your head but the rest of your/opponants body will be at a higher risk of injury, just what i heard, ive never worn one TBH.

Do you ride your pushbike faster now that you have to wear a helmet?

As for injury to the opponent no one is talking hard hats here (I hope) and I would be prepared to bet that if a head clash happened both players would be less injured if wearing head gear.

 

[theVokelYokel]

i certainly hope someone wheres a helmet this week. i need a good laugh at some namby pamby mammas boy to scared to take a knock to the head. i'd even suggest putting a saucer of milk in front of the player and telling him to "lap it up pussy"

 

[blue healer]

i certainly hope someone wheres a helmet this week. i need a good laugh at some namby pamby mammas boy to scared to take a knock to the head. i'd even suggest putting a saucer of milk in front of the player and telling him to "lap it up pussy"

And you played for .....?

 

[Gen Y]

i certainly hope someone wheres a helmet this week. i need a good laugh at some namby pamby mammas boy to scared to take a knock to the head. i'd even suggest putting a saucer of milk in front of the player and telling him to "lap it up pussy"

Do you wear a seat-belt?

 

[Balony_pony16]

Sorry, but can you show me the scientifically conducted study to show that gravity exists?

The 'theory' of increasing time during collisions is the KEY CONCEPT involved in all vehicle safety improvements. The beauty of physics is that you can use it to predict things like airbags and seat belts and padding will reduce injury, without needing to conduct a scientific study ramming a few hundred animals into a wall.

The more you read into the science/research into concussion and helmets the more you relise there is a long way to go. Basically the use of helmets in preventing concussion is inconclusive as there just isn't research that can support their use in prevention. But that doesn't say helmets don't work...just more research needs to be done.

Here is a good articule on concussion from the British journel on sports medicine.

http://bjsportmed.com/content/43/Suppl_1/i76.full

7.1 Protective equipment: mouthguards and helmets

There is no good clinical evidence that currently available protective equipment will prevent concussion although mouthguards have a definite role in preventing dental and orofacial injury. Biomechanical studies have shown a reduction in impact forces to the brain with the use of head gear and helmets, but these findings have not been translated to show a reduction in concussion incidence. For skiing and snowboarding there are a number of studies to suggest that helmets provide protection against head and facial injury and hence should be recommended for participants in alpine sports.113–116 In specific sports such as cycling, motor and equestrian sports, protective helmets may prevent other forms of head injury (eg, skull fracture) that are related to falling on hard road surfaces; these may be an important injury prevention issue for those sports.116–128

 

[pazza]

i certainly hope someone wheres a helmet this week. i need a good laugh at some namby pamby mammas boy to scared to take a knock to the head. i'd even suggest putting a saucer of milk in front of the player and telling him to "lap it up pussy"

Go tell that to Dunstall!

 

[XFactor1979]

Interesting that nobody noticed Nathan Burke wearing a protective headpiece for every one of those 300+ games

 

[XFactor1979]

But the girls wont get to see such great hairstyles of the modern footballer:

 

[PieNSauce]

The more you read into the science/research into concussion and helmets the more you relise there is a long way to go. Basically the use of helmets in preventing concussion is inconclusive as there just isn't research that can support their use in prevention. But that doesn't say helmets don't work...just more research needs to be done.

Here is a good articule on concussion from the British journel on sports medicine.

http://bjsportmed.com/content/43/Suppl_1/i76.full

This!

Nobody is saying that helmets don't help but studies have not found any conclusive evidence that they do while studies of helmet wearing in the NFL indicate that there is a decreased propensity to be self protective when using helmets which can actually in turn lead to greater incidence of concussion. That is not to say that the helmet itself causes the problem but more the modified behaviour of players.

 

[Balony_pony16]

bump...saw a new helmet thread. That discussion has been done well before. read here if you missed out

 

[krisholio14]

Well Rod Ashman, a man known for his wearing of the helmet in his fine career, reckons they are of benefit.

Garry Wilson and Chris Smith of Fitzroy were pretty handy players who rocked the helmet as well.

 

[Rors]

No! They wont make a comeback, as concussion is caused by the brain being knocked & bounced around inside the skull after a bump or hit & this, of course, will happen with or without a helmet

A helmet may reduce the risk of a fractured skull but the research on helmets & their effectiveness at reducing the risk of concussion are inconclusive

 

[Woodson]

I think wearing a helmet is a very sensible idea and should make a comeback.

However it won't because it de-glamorises the game.

hmmmm, I had the impression the 'current interpretations' of any head high contact has already de-glamorised the game as it is. Nothing wrong with wearing a padded head hugging piece to overcome continual concussions. ie: Rod Ashman (Carlton) wore it with great affect in the late 70's-80's (triple-time Premiership rover) although the biggest laugh was when someone in the crowd yelled out 'where's your bicycle Ashman' ???

 

[arkie]

Helmets in the NFL prevent a fracturing of the skull, not concussion.

Did anyone see the report on 4 Corners a few weeks ago about the link between concussion in college football and it's link with degenerative brain diseases such as CTE.

Obviously research needs to be done on Aussie Rules as we don't have as many head collisions but I assume there would be good reason to justify mandatory helmets in the AFL or at least junior footy.

 

[Mordecai]

Mollyfud is completely correct - and as someone so eloquently put it its the brain 'sloshing' around in the skull after impact that does the damage and helmets make little/no difference to the 'sloshing'. Boxers wear helmets and still wind up 'punch drunk' (post-concussive syndrome). The only way to go close to avoiding this serious injury is no head contact and to severely punish offenders - a couple of serious suspensions will make a difference IMO.

If two cars made of diamond crash into each other - the occupants will "slosh" around.

If you crash in today's cars - which are designed to crumple in a way to reduce the impact inside the car - then you have less "sloshing".

Surely the construction of a helmet is made with a similar desire - to reduce "sloshing".

Unfortunately, I do believe players will go in with less regard for their wellbeing due to the added protection - but this is more of an unknown than the above.

 

[Running Dog]

Wouldn't mind helmets coming back

I can't even remember who he played for.

 

[Tas]

Helmets in the NFL prevent a fracturing of the skull, not concussion.

Did anyone see the report on 4 Corners a few weeks ago about the link between concussion in college football and it's link with degenerative brain diseases such as CTE.

Obviously research needs to be done on Aussie Rules as we don't have as many head collisions but I assume there would be good reason to justify mandatory helmets in the AFL or at least junior footy.

These types of "studies" are usually a sham funded by organisation that have something to gain from a favourable test result, be it further funding or potential product sales.

It is hard enough to get a footballer to pee into a cup without bitching and moaning, to have such an extensive long-term history on a large number of athletes and monitor all their activities and everything they shove into their bodies is beyond any study group. There could be one of many different things that could cause a rise, it might not even be football related.

 

[LLB1]

The four corners program was interesting in that the NFL players tackled and trained to tackle nearly every day with their heads. The helmet allowed them to constantly hit a target with out external damage to the head but what is happening internal seems to be the issue.

It looks to be the number of repeated blows causing a lot of the damage.

This is also interesting http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/soccer.html again the number of blows looks to be the main issue.

AFL players do not tackle with their heads so while the NFL data is a concern and provides a wakeup call on concussion management how can it be directly applied to AFL.

Wouldn’t helmets allow more sub maximal head contact to occur?