With more than 40,000 concussions occurring each year among U.S. high
school students, researchers decided to test how well the different
helmet brands protected against head injuries.
Presenting their data at the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
National Conference and Exhibition in Orlando, the scientists reported
no significant differences in concussion risk among the most popular
brands.
The study involved 1,332 football players from 36 U.S. high schools
during the 2012 football season. Before the season, the players answered
questions about their behaviors and their history of injuries. During
the season, athletic trainers at the high schools tracked the number and
severity of sports-related concussions, recording which brands of
helmet and mouth guard the players used.
The majority of students — 52% — wore Riddell helmets, 35% wore
Schutt and 13% used Xenith. Sixty one percent of the players wore
generic mouth guards provided by their schools, and 39% wore mouth
guards that were custom-made by their dentist, or specially branded to
reduce concussion risk.
By the end of the season, 115 players had sustained 116 sports
related concussions, and there were no notable differences in the
likelihood of getting concussions between the different brands.
Surprisingly, players who used custom-fitted mouth guards had a higher
risk of concussions than those who used standard varieties, leading the
researchers to conclude that a hefty price tag doesn’t lead to more
protection.
Using a properly fitted helmet is critical to preventing skull
fractures, but the scientists say that the nature of concussions may
make it impossible to develop a helmet that completely protects against
internal injuries to the brain. Since the brain floats freely in the
skull, a helmet that sits on the outside of the skull does little to
cushion the violent movement that delicate brain tissue and nerve
networks feel during a tackle. So any helmet, regardless of how it’s
made, say the researchers, can only go so far in preventing the side
effects of concussions.
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