If helmets are capable of absorbing impact, and they are, then they clearly do something for concussions.
You could argue that helmets don't do nearly enough to prevent concussions but to say they do nothing just looks like sensationalism and turns people off from the start.
They really don't, the brain still rattles around the skull, which is the problem.
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Helmets were mandated following discussion to the catastrophic head trauma suffered by Bill Masterton, of the North Stars, who died following a clean check by the Oakland Golden Seals Ron Harris and Larry Cahan, who converged on him as he was at full speed...It was thought a skull fracture from falling backwards, initially, due to striking the back of his head on the ice...some articles, though, describe that Masterton was suffering from post-concussion symptoms prior to the mortal blow. http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey...masterton.html
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Last edited by thefoss1957; 03-12-2013 at 01:39 AM.
Yeah, I suppose hitting your head and bleeding out of your ears, eyes, and nose, fracturing your skull, etc, doesn't really matter. The helmets aren't there to prevent concussions, they're there to prevent the mentioned injuries. It's a dangerous sport, #### happens, and helmets certainly won't stop concussions. And I doubt the NHL will start blowing 30-40 thousand dollars a team for helmets, even though they make tons of money.
Helmets help prevent concussions like seatbelts help prevent whiplash. They don't. Helmets like seatbelts can help you a great deal, but they can't do everything.
If they want to reduce concussions they need to do several things. Eliminate hits to the head. Soften equipment, a leather shoulder pad will cause less impact to the head than a a piece of body armor. Get rid of seemless glass (some arenas already have) and have more give in the boards.
It also probably wouldn't hurt to expand the ice surface as the players have grown but the ice has stayed the same, I'm not saying go to Olympics ice, but if players are 10% bigger than they used to be, then expand the ice 10% to make up for that.
Helmets help prevent concussions like seatbelts help prevent whiplash. They don't. Helmets like seatbelts can help you a great deal, but they can't do everything.
If they want to reduce concussions they need to do several things. Eliminate hits to the head. Soften equipment, a leather shoulder pad will cause less impact to the head than a a piece of body armor. Get rid of seemless glass (some arenas already have) and have more give in the boards.
It also probably wouldn't hurt to expand the ice surface as the players have grown but the ice has stayed the same, I'm not saying go to Olympics ice, but if players are 10% bigger than they used to be, then expand the ice 10% to make up for that.
A leather shoulder pad would also be a lot heavier. Expanding the ice surface wouldn't be a bad thing, though, although that would cost quite a bit of money I think, although I have no info on the matter.
A leather shoulder pad would also be a lot heavier. Expanding the ice surface wouldn't be a bad thing, though, although that would cost quite a bit of money I think, although I have no info on the matter.
if the guys in the 80s could handle the weight of a leather should pad so could the guys now that are in infinitely better shape
Basic physics would tell you that the padding inside the helmet would cause negative acceleration to whatever force is coming into contact with the head, and would therefore reduce the force of the blow. This is all the helmet is doing to prevent concussions, which isn't much, it is somewhere between a "slight difference" to a "negligible difference" between wearing a helmet and not wearing a helmet (strictly regarding concussions)
Concussions are a pretty difficult thing to study. All I would take away from this study is that the helmets worn in the NHL are not enough to protect the players from brain injuries. They are still effective in protecting players from other things
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Helmets help prevent concussions like seatbelts help prevent whiplash. They don't. Helmets like seatbelts can help you a great deal, but they can't do everything.
If they want to reduce concussions they need to do several things. Eliminate hits to the head. Soften equipment, a leather shoulder pad will cause less impact to the head than a a piece of body armor. Get rid of seemless glass (some arenas already have) and have more give in the boards.
It also probably wouldn't hurt to expand the ice surface as the players have grown but the ice has stayed the same, I'm not saying go to Olympics ice, but if players are 10% bigger than they used to be, then expand the ice 10% to make up for that.
Helmets help prevent concussions like seatbelts help prevent whiplash. They don't. Helmets like seatbelts can help you a great deal, but they can't do everything.
If they want to reduce concussions they need to do several things. Eliminate hits to the head. Soften equipment, a leather shoulder pad will cause less impact to the head than a a piece of body armor. Get rid of seemless glass (some arenas already have) and have more give in the boards.
It also probably wouldn't hurt to expand the ice surface as the players have grown but the ice has stayed the same, I'm not saying go to Olympics ice, but if players are 10% bigger than they used to be, then expand the ice 10% to make up for that.
There are a couple of thoughts I have after reading you post:
Has hockey become more contact focused. I am old, but not old enough to comment, but I wonder. It appears there is a greater emphasis on making a big hit, was that around in pre-70/80's hockey. If there has been an increase in contact, has there also been a change in the type of contact. Are checks more of a collision than they used to be? An individual can get a concussion without any contact to the head. The hit can be clean and still result in a concussion due to a sudden stopping of the body/head, but a continued mov't of the brain.
It is an extremely interesting topic.
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
I cant speak for hockey helmets, but Ive raced road bikes for about 10 years and had my share of horrible crashes. I feel that personally, helmets play a pretty big part in maybe not fully eliminating a concussion but in reducing the magnitude of one. Ive crashed at 70-80kph landing on my head and even if its proved that helmets dont stop concussions they are absolutely beneficial in other regards, and I dont think I would never not wear one.
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if the guys in the 80s could handle the weight of a leather should pad so could the guys now that are in infinitely better shape
The NHL has already mandated foam covered caps on shoulder pads for two years and foam covered caps for elbow pads for five years. I don't think adding leather (which hasn't been used in hockey pad construction, with the exception of some goalie equipment, for years)to pads will do anything to improve the situation. The mandated caps are constructed like this:
LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE FOAM
HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE FOAM
PLASTIC CAP (FOR IMPACT DISPERSION)
HIGH DENSITY POLYETHYLENE FOAM
LOW DENSITY POLYETHYLENE FOAM
I honestly think that the protective pads are as safe as they can make them at this point. Hockey is a velocity sport and impacts can be violent due to that velocity. Concussions occur due to the brain striking the inside of the skull usually because of impacts at speed. Concussions can occur even when the head is not impacted. Realistically, the only way to truly have an impact (no pun intended) on concussions is to reduce the speed of the game and we all know that is never going to happen.
Current helmets can only do so much to prevent concussions. They are originally design for damage to your skull than brain. Look at NFL or CFL players with concussion problems. A helmet does not stop your brain from hitting the inside of the cranium. A hit even to the chin or chest can cause whiplash effect where the body suddenly stops but the mometum carries the floating brain forward hitting the inside of the skull and bruising it.
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Helmets help prevent concussions like seatbelts help prevent whiplash. They don't. Helmets like seatbelts can help you a great deal, but they can't do everything.
I'd say a helmet is more like the body of the car. The shell of the helmet acts like the windshield, deflecting and dispersing impacts. The padding inside the helmet acts like the crumple zones in a car, they absorb impacts to reduce the forces experienced by the occupant/your brain.
Maybe the NHL should be looking into increasing the amount of padding inside of helmets.
I think this is significant. Effectively, unless we start legislating some of the headshots, deliberate or not, out of the game, you're going to have resulting brain damage. To be fair, if a grown man knows the risks and decides to play anyway, that's on him, players just need to have all the information.
I think the "OMG ban all head shots!" argument misses the point, actually. While it is a subjective argument, I would say to consider the CHL. Of the three leagues, think about which one is always making TSN highlights for giant, devastating hits where some kid gets smoked in the brain. It is nearly always the OHL. And the OHL is the league with the strictest head shot rules in the CHL by far. The reason, I would argue, is that David Branch and the OHL are teaching players that it is okay to skate with your head down. Don't worry about being oblivious to the risks around you, the rules will protect you!
And that is how things like this happen to Nail Yakupov:
The solution, as it so often is, is education. Going after guys targeting the head is definitely warranted, but the leagues need to be equally focused on reinforcing the need to be aware, and the need to avoid putting yourself in dangerous spots. The more we coddle players into believing the rules will save them, the more injuries will occur.
Side note: in the NCAA, the rate of concussions in women's hockey is double that of the men's game for much the same reason. If you aren't expecting to take a hit, your body isn't prepared to absorb the impact.
The OHL is a developmental league in which 95% of the players have no future NHL career. I think that especially at the younger levels headshots and the like should be banned given the known long lasting ramifications on the health and wellbeing of the injured party.
