Football Head Injuries

[Texsox]

Brain injuries to players have been in the news more frequently. There have been several high profile suicides in recent years. So what should be done?

[lasttriptotulsa]

I voted for a combination of things. While I have always had the thought that smaller helmets would force players to quit using them as weapons, there would be a lot of growing pains/additional head injuries as players broke old habits. I think a big thing that should be worked on is proper tackling form. This should start at the lowest levels of organized football and work its way up. I've never understood the whole philisophy of launching yourself at a guy to try and make a tackle. To me, a well executed form tackle is a thing of beauty and if players were taught how to properly tackle and forced to properly tackle by the rules put in place, the number of head injuries should decline.

[IlliniKrush]

One thing you can't do is bring back leather helmets. People would die right there on the field.

 

With all the information out there, I think any parent that lets their kid play football is absolutely out of their mind.

 

I also predict that in about 10 years, HS football won't exist. Everything will be club/travel leagues. High schools are about safety first, and at some point they aren't going to sponsor such a dangerous game anymore.

[Kyyle23]

I think "better/safer helmets" is a myth. You might be protecting the outside of the head, but the brain is still bouncing around the inside of the skull

[southsider2k5]

I had been trying to talk my SIL into putting her son/my nephew into Pop Warner football. After seeing the two hour PBS frontline about how early the CTE problems started, I did a complete 180.

[Balta1701]

I voted for a combination of things. While I have always had the thought that smaller helmets would force players to quit using them as weapons, there would be a lot of growing pains/additional head injuries as players broke old habits. I think a big thing that should be worked on is proper tackling form. This should start at the lowest levels of organized football and work its way up. I've never understood the whole philisophy of launching yourself at a guy to try and make a tackle. To me, a well executed form tackle is a thing of beauty and if players were taught how to properly tackle and forced to properly tackle by the rules put in place, the number of head injuries should decline.

I'm basically along these lines. The only way this sport survives is if they set rules to make an effort to control the problem and people are taught proper technique.

[Rowand44]

I think "better/safer helmets" is a myth. You might be protecting the outside of the head, but the brain is still bouncing around the inside of the skull

From what I've heard this is absolutely correct.

[LittleHurt05]

Do rugby leagues have similar concussion issues? I always wonder how injuries compare in that sport, since they are somewhat similar. Are they even serious about concussions yet? I know in the English Premier League (yes, soccer), guys get diagnosed and still return in the same game, so maybe not yet.

[iamshack]

One thing you can't do is bring back leather helmets. People would die right there on the field.

 

With all the information out there, I think any parent that lets their kid play football is absolutely out of their mind.

 

I also predict that in about 10 years, HS football won't exist. Everything will be club/travel leagues. High schools are about safety first, and at some point they aren't going to sponsor such a dangerous game anymore.

Keep in mind many of the injuries are occurring because the helmet is being used as a weapon, not because the helmet isn't protecting people enough in normal collisions.

 

I think I read in one of these articles that the incidences of these severe injuries are much less common in rugby and Australian rules football.

[Balta1701]

Keep in mind many of the injuries are occurring because the helmet is being used as a weapon, not because the helmet isn't protecting people enough in normal collisions.

 

I think I read in one of these articles that the incidences of these severe injuries are much less common in rugby and Australian rules football.

I think for a long time, the NFL was really pushing people towards worse and worse tackling form because a guy getting "Jacked up!" makes a great highlight.

[IlliniKrush]

I had been trying to talk my SIL into putting her son/my nephew into Pop Warner football. After seeing the two hour PBS frontline about how early the CTE problems started, I did a complete 180.

Exactly.

[Rowand44]

Ya the "would you let your kids play football" argument is an interesting one. If I ever had kids(don't worry world, not happening), I'm not sure where I'd fall on that.

[witesoxfan]

Ya the "would you let your kids play football" argument is an interesting one. If I ever had kids(don't worry world, not happening), I'm not sure where I'd fall on that.

 

I will let them do what they want.

[StrangeSox]

WOULD YOU LET THEM JUMP OFF OF A BRIDGE?!! HOW IRRESPONSIBLE

[IlliniKrush]

I will let them do what they want.

When they have no idea the consequences? Smart.

[Harry Chappas]

When they have no idea the consequences? Smart.

Check out the stats for girls sports. Football is the focal sport but it is not so far ahead of things like soccer, hockey and oh, cheerleading is the most injury plagued (including concussions) that the topic should stop with football.

[StrangeSox]

I thought most youth soccer leagues did away with heading

[southsider2k5]

Exactly.

 

The kid is a five year old boy. He has a ton of energy and he needs some work on dealing with other kids. I thought a team sport would be good for him. He has always been way bigger than other kids his age (hell he weighs more than my 8 year old girl) and he has had some aggression issues. It seemed like a perfect fit. Now, no way. He can do something else... baseball, basketball, soccer, whatever.

[Harry Chappas]

I thought most youth soccer leagues did away with heading

Heading is only part, the ground, other heads, inadvertently getting hit in the head all are issues and females seem more prevalent.

[StrangeSox]

The kid is a five year old boy. He has a ton of energy and he needs some work on dealing with other kids. I thought a team sport would be good for him. He has always been way bigger than other kids his age (hell he weighs more than my 8 year old girl) and he has had some aggression issues. It seemed like a perfect fit. Now, no way. He can do something else... baseball, basketball, soccer, whatever.

MMA!

[Rowand44]

I banged my head against the ground a ton playing basketball growing up and am positive at least one or two of those resulted in a concussion(insert "that explains a lot" joke).

[StrangeSox]

I knocked myself out cold three times!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Jake]

They've been learning that for many of these cases, it isn't the concussions. It is the accumulation of sub-concussive blows. I went to a seminar put on by the leading CTE researchers from Boston and they're saying the picture is rather bleak. However, most (roughly three quarters) of these damaging, sub-concussive blows are occurring in practice. That, we can reduce drastically. They said youth football leagues are typically the worst offenders due to lack of training and care.

[witesoxfan]

When they have no idea the consequences? Smart.

 

Then I may as well keep them out of every competitive sport, right? You can get hit by line drives in baseballs, get undercut and crack your head open in basketball, get cut or slip and fall in hockey, drown in swimming...may as well relegate him to a life of video games.

 

If my future child is interested in playing a sport, I will let them. If they aren't, I'm not going to make them play anything.

[Texsox]

I believe the solutions have to evolve around the helmet. Better helmets have cause the players to stick their heads where they do not belong. The helmets are great at avoiding skull fractures but as noted earlier, the brain itself is getting bounced around. Getting rid of face guards and softening the helmet may be a good start, at least at the younger ages.

 

As far as allowing kids to play, most younger than middle school youth leagues offer only minimum training fpr coaches, no trainers, etc. The more dangerous the sport the more a parent should know who is responsible for their child during that sport. The level of knowledge and responsibility necessary is higher for football than the other common sports. I can see a parent making the decision to not allow their child to play football where collisions are necessary and common, while allowing the child to play baseball, basketball, gymnastics, or a no check hockey league.