Are helmets designed to stop concussions? I think you would be surprised to find out that helmets are not designed specifically to reduce concussion risk. Helmets are actually only tested for their ability to stop skull fracture. In the paper that was read for this week, the neurometabolic cascade of concussions was discussed. We particularly discussed the effects of concussions on the still developing brains of adolescents. Concussions are particularly bad for growing children, however, we still subject them to sports where they are most susceptible to concussions. I don’t think that taking away sports is the answer, but I do think that helmets specifically designed to reduce the risks of concussions are important. This leads to the question, how are helmets designed and tested?
NOCSAE, or the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, is an organization that formed in 1969 to create helmet regulations and standards for helmet performance testing. These tests are designed to evaluate the helmet’s ability to protect against serious brain injury, but not necessarily concussions.
Recently, researchers at Virginia Tech designed their own test for evaluating helmets. This new test rates each helmet based on their ability to protect against concussions. Their results were quite shocking. The helmet used last year in the NFL, the VSR4, was second from the bottom in VT’s ratings. This is also the helmet often used by high schools and colleges around the US.
VT’s new test is a great step in the right direction for concussion protection and awareness. With this new data made public, hopefully helmet producers will focus more on safety rather than style.
Further reading
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/sports/football/10helmets.html
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=easterbrook-110719_virginia_tech_helmet_study&sportCat=nfl
In-depth information on helmet testing procedures
http://www.soimpact.com/impactdynamicsl.pdf
The New Standard of Helmet Testing
