What Wearable Technology Has Done For Sports

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.

The first step to reducing the danger of CTE, is putting more time and money into CTE research. One of the most challenging circumstances dealing with CTE research is that so far researchers have only been able to confirm CTE through post-mortem brain examinations. While people may exhibit signs of CTE such as anger, depression and memory loss, it is impossible to know whether the player is afflicted by CTE or another disease without destroying the brain. To further understand CTE researchers must be able to develop a way to accurately detect CTE in living patients, and properly treat them accordingly. The second, and most common form of reducing CTE risk, lies in producing newer and better equipment. In an article by NeurologyAdvisor, they have decided that, “Most of the public believe that equipment, including new and improved helmets, mouthpieces, sensors, and more have the most potential for improving safety” (Williams). A topic that is currently being discussed, but has little backing, is a new mouthpiece that will be able to record the force of the hit that players receive. This mouthpiece will be connected to a computer that trainers and medical officials on the sidelines can monitor and be alerted when it is possible that a player may have a concussion or other head injuries. While this is a

Concussions are becoming more and more commonplace in today’s world. Some say it is because of the aggression of play, especially in hockey and football. Others will argue that “an increase in the recognition and reporting may be primarily responsible for the increase in incidence since 1997” (Minigh 42). With the increase in concussions in the sports world today, it is imperative that sports medicine physicians and athletic trainers have a standardized way to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injuries. Providers believe standardization is important because it will help teach upcoming physicians how to go about treating concussions generally, as well as giving patients an idea of what to expect from their treatment. This is where technology gets put in the game.

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

In the sports world today, there are many different injuries that athletes experience and one of the most devastating injury is a concussion. Concussions can happen to anyone, in any sport, but we tend to see most concussions in contact sports (Świerzewski 1). While having an informal conversation with my dad about football, he told me it was common for athletes to receive a head injury in a game and continue to play as if nothing was wrong. While watching SportsCenter, I found that some of the greatest retired athletes don’t remember the best moments of their careers due to the lack of treatment. The worst aspect of concussions is that the symptoms can be delayed; in some cases, it’s only a headache so athletes don’t seek medical treatment. Multiple concussions over time can lead to life-threatening complications due to the damage they cause to the brain. Concussions can happen to anybody at anytime, but there is more to concussions than meets the eye.

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,

I’m running towards the ball, towards their biggest forward and then….. nothing. All I can see is black. Then I'm back in Tomar Park; I’m playing a soccer game. I was taken out, checked for injuries, and put back in the game. That’s all I remember from the hit, the blow, the day I “got my bell rung.” Concussions are effecting more and more athletes everyday. Coaches, athletes, and sports officials need to be educated on how to recognize, treat, and prevent concussions and head injuries. New research on concussions has shown how dangerous they can be and has created new technology to find concussions. Using the research, programs are being made to inform coaches, trainers, athletes, etc.

In the NFL they use sensors in helmets to spot concussions, so an author has a solution to the risk of concussions and that is “Riddell’s Head Impact Telemetry System or HITS” (Kliegman). The only problem about the HITS system is the price. The HITS system costs around $60,000 to implement. However schools have more important things to do with $60,000 like pay for new books, computers, equipment for teachers. Although It does cost around a low end house. Although the price is a bit high the HITS is a sensor that can detect the amount of force that hit the player’s head. The device can try and scan for the hit that caused a concussion. Another type of way to monitor is different sensors as the author stated “Some sensors go inside helmets, technology is meant to flag potential concussions” (Kliegman).There are other alternatives to the HIT system. These sensors are meant to “flag potential concussions” not to prevent them. This is a way to monitor the players

Barnett argues “Live contact during regular season and postseason practises will be allowed no more than three days a week and limited to no more than 30 minutes a day and a total of no more than 80 minutes a week. Contact also is not allowed on more than two consecutive days.”(Barnett, pg1) This will help decrease the number of concussions in children and teens in sports. Although it is not a way to prevent them it is still a serious injury that people of all ages should be cautious about. (HELMETS IN SPORTS) “Helmet use in sports spans such varied activities as race-car driving, motorcycling, baseball, hockey, football, lacrosse, equestrian activities, and bicycling. The substantial increase in helmet use is a tribute to the consumer's concern for safety, society's interest in minimizing serious injury, and the helmet industry's efforts to produce acceptable products. Generally speaking, however, helmet safety design has evolved slowly”(Coben, 1). Helmets in sports are the most important tool for protection from concussions. Even though concussions are not 100% preventable schools should pay the extra money to get the safest helmets. Helmet safety is evolving and there are new helmets specifically for concussions. “Forty-one states and Washington, DC, have youth sports TBI laws that require coaches and teams to remove young athletes from play if they are suspected of having suffered a TBI, and all of those states but Wisconsin and Ohio require

Concussions can have severe effects on an athlete. They can lead depression, memory loss, and event death. However, with growing research, it is possible to take preventative measures, identify the likelihood of a concussion and engage in treatment. Undiagnosed concussions can lead to more severe injuries and athletes should be concerned about, aware of them and treat them. With new technology, greater awareness, and growing acceptance that concern should be less on winning a game than preventing and treating a concussion, it is possible that one day, concussions may be a rare thing of the

But recently we’ve also seen and heard more of a disease that is hurting players within the NFL. It’s causing present and former players to file lawsuits against the NFL and Riddell- NFL’s official partner and the largest football-helmet manufacturer. The real issue with concussions is that lives are at stake. This tragic fact become clear in 2006 when former Philadelphia Eagle star Andre Warner committed suicide by shooting himself. Studies on his brain later showed that he suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). A form of brain damage from repeated blows to the head and results in demetria. This disease was first seen from pathologist Bennet Omalu who tried to spread the awareness throughout football players even though the NFL had tried to block his research and “deny the existence of the disease.”(NFl’s answer to concussions: Sports science) The NFL has now even estimated the one-third of its former players will develop dementia, Alzheimer’s disease or other types of debilitating neurological disorders such as Parkinson”s disease and ALS. But head injuries can be found in young children up to major league players. According to Game Changers Stefan Duma has recorded more than 150,000 head impacts that football players have endured from the age of seven to the Virginia Tech Hokies football team. In The Helmet That Can Save Football professional football players may receive up to 1,500 hits to

Sports is a major part of mostly everyone’s life either you watch it or just participate in it. Though it has it benefits, everyone has the reason why they participate or enjoy watching sports. With the benefits comes with some consequence. When a football player puts on a helmet, he knows what he gets himself into. Although they have a helmet on, they are not guarantee not to get a concussion, according to Press Release “there was a new study that found out that football helmets currently used on the field does little to no protection against hits to side if the head” (AAN).

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).

There has been extraordinary improvements of helmets from the old leather to the modernized-plastic football helmets along with the face mask and energy- absorbent padding. In addition, the concern over preventing concussions, have led to helmet changes, impact testing methods and reconstruction of injuries during play helping to provide insight on concussions(4). Helmets have been successful in decreasing the risk of traumatic brain injuries, but there is much concern over concussion; therefore, scholars argue the importance of technology development to address concussion(5). As the author(s), David Viano and David Halstead discusses, there is room needed for understanding the types of collisions associated in youths and the impact condition addressing collisions. There are many variables to consider addressing concussion and where they occur.

Performance profiling is used in many sports and has been found to enhance coach-athlete communication by enabling the coach to understand how the athlete currently feels about their training or performance. This information has been found to assist the coach in the development of training sessions that take into account the athlete’s perspective.