Football is a sport that involves a lot of tackling so it is vital that their protective gears fit them perfectly to avoid the effects of injuries incurred during the game. A new study has revealed that those high school football players wearing loose helmets suffer the worse effects concussion can bring compared to those whose helmet fit them properly.
A concussion is a traumatic injury to the brain as a result of a violent blow to the head, shaking, or a jolt. This is usually caused by sports injuries, car accidents, and falls. According to the Centers for Disease Center and Prevention (CDC) symptoms can include headache, drowsiness, difficulty remembering, emotional and sleep disturbances, and difficulty thinking.
According to WISTV, Dr. Barry Boden, the author of the study and a sports medicine specialist at The Orthopedic Center in Rockville, Md. said that young athletes wearing loose helmets were found to have the highest concussion symptoms such as drowsiness, being overly excited, and noise sensitivity. These symptoms were also noticed to have lasted longer and were more severe.
"There's been a lot of interest in concussions but there really hasn't been much focus on how helmets fit," Boden added. "So we thought this study would be unique and original, and wanted to see if there were any issues that contributed to concussions."
For the study, Boden and his team of researchers analyzed the national high school sports-related injury data from 9 years ago which included data on more than 4,500 athletes who suffered first-time concussion. The authors of the study said that helmet fit is determined by the athletic trainer, those wearing loose helmets are more prone to drowsiness, noise sensitivity and other concussion symptoms than those whose helmet fits them perfectly, US News reported.
The study also found that players wearing helmets lined with air bladder are more at risk for light and noise sensitivity and suffer from concussion for a longer period of time than those whose helmets are foam- or gel-lined. Helmets which are lined with air can deflate that will make it looser on the head of the one wearing it.
