With football in full swing around the nation, a new study is out that calls into question the effectiveness of current football helmets worn by high school and college athletes.
The Cleveland Clinic study tested both today’s high-tech, polycarbonate helmets and the old leather ones of yesteryear and discovered that the new helmets do no more to protect players against sports-related concussions and catastrophic injury than the old ones did, according to Reuters.
Researcher were surprised by the results and said they raise questions about how effectively modern helmets safeguard players from head, neck and brain injuries that are caused over time by ongoing low- and medium-impact hits. The study appeared online in the Journal of Neurosurgery.
Studies have found that student athletes are at greatest risk for a sport-related concussion. One study conducted by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital found that approximately 130,000 concussions are reported by high school athletes each year.
More recently, the Centers for Disease Control reported that ER visits for brain injuries in children and teenagers rose 60 percent between 2001 and 2009 – and cited football as one of the top sports for inflicting brain injuries, reports Reuters.
If you or someone you love has been injured by a sport-related concussion, you may be entitled to compensation.