Smartmouth Product Analysis

Safety and equipment have come a long way in football in order to prevent brain injuries. A very important piece of equipment used to prevent brain trauma is the helmet. The helmet has evolved a lot over the years, even more in the past decade. The Helmets main purpose use to be just to stop skull fractures, then they added the facemask to prevent facial injuries. Concussions are more of a recent concern (Hand 1). Overconfidence in the helmets' protective power prompts many NFL athletes to deliver and accept hits that would have killed players of previous generations. Now the helmet is being revolutionized. Helmets aren't only being created to stop skull and face fractures but they are being created to help prevent brain damage such as concussions now. Helmets have gone through testing to see how to design a better preventative helmet. These newer helmets are being designed to reduce the amount of force that is being applied to the head by a hit that is received (Vandantam 2). Virginia Tech football has been monitoring helmet collisions since 2003, courtesy of Dr. Gunnar Brolinson. Dr. Gunnar Brolinson has outfitted the teams helmets with six sensors and a small antenna that records and transmits data to a computer on the sideline. This information collected is crucial because it will help find better ways to design a helmet that will prevent concussions(Goldman 1). Equipment isn't the only important part of football that can help prevent concussions.

Soccer, being the most popular sport across the nation, currently has millions of fans and approximately 25 million registered players in the United States alone (Niedfeldt). Since the early 2000’s and continually seventeen years later, concussions are among the highest sustained injury to soccer players. While the sport is increasing in popularity, fear of injuries is increasing as well. In response to the arising panic, several companies have come together in order to create, promote, and sell protective headgear to concerned soccer players and their parents. The creators of this gear claim that their products will reduce concussions and any negative neurocognitive effects in relation to heading balls in soccer. Although some believe that

A mouth is the most overlooked item while a hockey player dresses for a game. According to Sports Med February 2007 the article entitled “Mouthguards in Sports Activities” states, “Mouth guards reduce the likelihood of concussion due to a direct blow to the lower jaw bone by positioning the jaw to absorb impact forces that would normally be transmitted through the base of the skull and into the brain.”

Therefore, a group of researchers consisting of former team physicians from the NFL and NCAA as well as members of the Department of Neurosurgery at NorthShore University HealthSystem and West Virginia University have devised a piece of equipment to protect against sports-related concussions in the form of a collar. As the first form of internal protection for head injuries, compressive collars include two beads that gently compress the jugular, which increases the amount of blood in the cranium. Increased blood flow in the cranium adds a protective layer of blood between the brain and the skull, which decreases the amount of contact between the two. This minimizes the movement of the brain, or momentum resulting from a hit, which reduces the amount of torn or rotated brain fibers (Cole, 2016). Although compressive collars haven not been tested on athletes, they have been used by the military, which is increasingly more intense than any sport, to test for wearability of the collar. Also, in an experiment conducted by the inventors of the collar to test for the sufficiency of the product, an 83% reduction in the number of torn brain fibers in lab rats wearing the collar was found. Aside from the

Over the past couple of years the National Football League as well as other football associations have witnessed a rise in the occurrences of severe head trauma to players resulting in concussions. One of the NFL’s top priorities is the health and safety of their players. These NFL players bring an abundant amount of joy and excitement to their wild, raving, die hard football fans across the nation. However, these mens’ health today and for decades to come is equally if not more important than their careers that often last an average of 4 years playing football. Despite the increase in the number of concussions in football, leagues are doing all they can to prevent concussions by implementing new rules, provide new and improved equipment,

Concussions in sports have become a very popular issue in the past century. Athletes are becoming bigger, faster, stronger, and more aggressive. With this, though, comes more injuries as a whole and injuries that are more dangerous as well. Parents, coaches, fans, and athletes have become more aware of how dangerous concussions can be and what effect they can have on an individual throughout the rest of their life. Many advancements and changes have been made in an attempt to keep athletes and players safer and more protected. Some individuals believe parents, coaches, and trainers are becoming overly protective and are ruining the entertainment of the game and the competitiveness of the players. Any sort of traumatic brain injury can have many effects on the individual; there are short-term, medium-term, and long-term consequences of concussions that can continue affecting the individual for fourteen years after he or she has suffered the head injury. Although many advancements have been made and preventing concussions has become a priority in the ‘sports-world,’ authority figures and athletes still ignore the symptoms of concussions to allow the athlete to continue to participate. However, in order to continue the entertainment that sporting events bring fans and the enjoyment that they bring to the participants, more precautions should be made to keep the players on the field and in good health.

Concussions in youth sports has recently became more popular in the news. Mukand and Serra recently discovered, “about 1.6- 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur every year, and a recent study found that 182,000 football players may sustain at least one concussion annually in youth (99,000), high school (76,640), and NCAA football programs (3,905), or about 1 in 30 players and 1 in 14 high school players” (16). The amount of concussions should be alarming to athletes and the parents. Hospitals have noticed a growing number of visits from children and young adults with concussions because of sports, but it is unclear if the rise is due to more concussions or more reports due to better awareness of concussions (Mitka 1775-1776). Concussions could be on the rise or more people are recognizing the symptoms of concussions and then reporting them. Either way, concussions in youth sports need to be reduced or completely eliminated. Sports related concussions in youth can be prevented with proper education and technique. Efficient and reliable equipment and better rules and regulations in youth sports can also prevent concussions and brain injuries in youth and adolescents.

Football being one of the most physical sport it is, I grew a love for it in all aspects. I’ve been playing the game of football for 10 plus years and can’t stress enough the importance of technique and player safety. In recent years people have become concerned with the long term effects of head related injuries caused by repeated collisions on the field. Head injuries such as concussions often leave participants of all levels permanently injured for life if the correct treatment isn’t provided. This is why studies around the country are being constructed to keep athletes safe and prevent any further injuries.

Bone-crushing hits and flying tackles are all part of what makes football exciting to watch, but they are also part of the reason why the sport is now facing heavy criticism over the serious head injuries that it can bring. In response to concerns from both the public and players about injuries, research into making this head-crushing sport safer has become a leading concern for the NFL and many other sports medicine organizations across the country.

Head coming forcibly into contact with another and concussions caused by physically coming into contact with other players in sports are a swiftly escalating epidemic among young athletes. When debatable cases corresponding to CTE are left undetected, concussions can lead to the condition of long-term brain damage and may even prove untreatable. Athletes are left defenseless and useless without facts provided without hesitation accessible about their own health. Most concussions resolve with rest within a week to ten days; however, about 10% of concussions take longer to heal and some may have long-term consequences. While research is ongoing to help identify the best approach to changing the culture of concussion in sports, there are action steps that coaches, parents, health care providers, and school professionals can take now to help keep young athletes safe and supported as they pursue the sports they love to play. A shortened play clock might also make obese linemen lose weight, since there’d be less standing around and more hustling. And since all players would be more tired, they would have less strength when delivering hits. This will allow coaches would to control the basic strategy, but the players would control its application, communicating with one another more and engaging their otherwise static athletic

Playing sports is seen as all fun, but when the majority of professional athletes have suffered a concussion or some type of head injury at least once in their career, it stops being fun. Many major league and professional sports teams need to start to make changes to protective equipment, but the leagues also need to introduce stricter rules and regulations along with mandatory equipment for all players to lessen the chance of serious head injuries.

Research by Meehan and Landry (2015) suggests that the introduction of helmets to football and the updating of helmet design plays a major role in the reduction of head injuries. Many old helmets only came in standard small, medium, and large sizes. They also offered minor protection, as they were lined with a material like Styrofoam. Newer helmet designs, such as the ones used in the NFL, have a deformable structure with multiple layers of different materials to absorb impact. Schools and youth programs should be required to update protective equipment regularly, and in cases where the equipment is purchased by a guardian, an inspection should be performed by school or youth league staff before the youth can participate.

One helmet does not prevent a serious brain injury but when one does wear the proper equipment it reduces the chances of fatal injuries. Head trauma and concussions are more common than they should be, even in all levels of the game. Youth, highschool, and professional NFL players are all exposed and have a likely chance to hit their head and receive a concussion. The serious damage can impact the player’s life tremendously! Although in most cases studies have shown by the Institution of Medicine, which was funded by the NFL, that in most cases the concussion symptoms will cease in a matter of two weeks. In spite of most cases impacting the football player’s life for a short period of time, some victims are not as

Lacrosse is often referred to as the fastest sport on two feet. Deriving from Native American roots, it relies upon athleticism, commitment, and one’s ability to wield a lacrosse stick. For centuries, the sport has grown and evolved as new equipment is regulated, new rules created, and new styles developed. Recently, however, a push for more protective gear has evolved outside the lacrosse community due to rising fears of increased head trauma; it incited a debate revolving around whether or not extra protective headgear would decrease the dangers of women's lacrosse. On the other hand, those within the lacrosse community, mainly players and coaches, have recognized the dangers

Football can be a very dangerous sport. And although those who play the game believe that they are being protected by the helmets that they wear, the truth is that this may not be the case. In a recent study released by the American Academy of Neurology it has been found that “protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma”(Science Daily, 2014). The study also found that standard football helmets worn by the majority of players on the field today, only reduce the risk of traumatic brain injury by 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet at all (Science Daily, 2014).