Have you read the warning on your football helmet?

Concussions are a hot topic in sports. During the course of a normal year, it has been shown that a high school football player will receive 700 - 1,000 blows to the head. Athletes who initiate contact with their head when they tackle or block are at even greater risk of suffering a concussion or catastrophic injury. For that reason, the National Federation of High School Sports has made it illegal to initiate contact with the head or facemask during games. But, participants in sports that involve contact like football, hockey and lacrosse, are wearing helmets, why do they still sustain concussions? Because helmet manufactures don’t design them to prevent concussion.

Riddell helmets contain a warning that “Contact in football may result in CONCUSSION-BRAIN INJURY which no helmet can prevent…” Similarly, Schutt helmets contain a warning that “NO HELMET SYSTEM CAN PROTECT YOU FROM SERIOUS BRAIN AND/OR NECK INJURIES INCLUDING PARALYSIS OR DEATH. TO AVOID THESE RISKS, DO NOT ENGAGE IN THESPORTOF FOOTBALL.”

Is there a way to determine if one helmet is safer than another? All football helmets contain a NOCSAE sticker or imprint to verify that it has met at least NOCSAE’s minimal protective standards. But, that’s just not enough. This is one instances where newer and more expensive is better. Only use the newest models. And, while manufacturers recommend that helmets be re-conditioned each year, and shouldn’t be used if they are more than 9 years old, reconditioning is really meaningless—except to replace broken parts. That is the case because the reconditioner is not improving the design of the helmet, but rather simply assuring schools that each helmet has all the right parts in it.

Read more: http://central-pennsylvania.injuryboard.com/head-and-brain-injuries/have-you-read-the-warning-on-your-football-helmet.aspx?googleid=292790