Friday night lights. Marching bands. And the smacking of football pads. Yes, it’s football season!
As parents prepare to watch their kids on the football field, discussion returns to topics of injuries and helmet safety. The risk of football-related brain injuries
es is undeniable. Each year designers and manufacturers unveil the latest and greatest helmet. The new helmets can cost between $300 and $400. Does a more expensive high tech helmet make a difference?
Opinions vary.
Some medical experts say there are no conclusive studies that show one brand or style of helmet to be more effective at preventing concussions than another. “We just know that helmets in general don’t protect against concussions,” said Dr. Robert Cantu, who has been studying football-related head injuries since 1987. “We do know a newer helmet is better than an older one,” he added.
While manufacturers such as Riddell claims that its Revolution helmet reduces the risk of concussion by 31 percent, and Xenith does not call its product a helmet, rather it boasts of an “adaptive head protection system of integrated technologies designed to reduce the sudden movement of the head by adapting to different energy levels.”