4.3 million People at Risk

Wouldn't you suppose that if there were a disease or problem that potentially threatened the quality or quantity of so many lives that we'd have an organization dedicated to raising money to find a cure?  How about Congressional hearings attended by the families of so many victims?  Apparently not, when it comes to that many children and young people whose lives may be at risk each year when stepping onto athletic fields to play the all-American sport of football.

I know that I have spoken about the subject of concussion injuries before, but, truly, I feel that if we aren't educated as to the risks to our boys, young men, husbands, fathers, brothers and uncles from this problem, we'll never get any movement in the helmet industry or the NFL as to how this can be prevented.

Part of the problem comes from the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE).  This organization is responsible for determining the standards by which all helmets in this country are made.  Unfortunately, it is comprised of lawyers, not scientists, and the standards are 40 years old.  The the NOCSAE is funded by equipment manufacturers.  In all fairness, if any manufacturer were to develop a helmet outside those antiquated standards, it would open itself to law suits.

The other part of the problem appears to come from the scientific community, itself...there is disagreement as to how these injuries occur and how to prevent them.  Making it even more difficult is that every brain is different.  Young brains respond to injury differently than older brains; female brains differ from male brains; and, diagnosing CTE can only be done post-mortem.*

Research done by Peter Hallidin of Stockholm shows that there is much more damage done to a brain that has undergone rotational acceleration (the kind of injury sustained in football) than one submitted to a linear acceleration. Somewhat akin to the difference in injury to the cervical spine from a T-bone accident than from a rear end accident. Hitting one's head into a window creates more of a shearing stress than a forward to backward injury.  Mr. Hallidin has developed what he calls the, "Multiple Impact Protection System." Inside the helmet is a bright yellow layer of molded plastic attached with small rubber straps that sit between the padding and the head.  This allows the head to float during an impact. This mimics the way the brain sits in the skull.  It is bathed in and protected by a layer of cerebral spinal fluid, which helps to absorb minor hits to the head.

I won't go into all the details of his experiments, but Mr. Hallidin has been able to reproduce rotational acceleration injuries and collect data using both the traditional helmet design and his MIPS design.  Rotational injury is measured in radians.  A significant trauma to the head resulting in a concussive episode, while using a traditional helmet,  generated 14,100 radians per second squared. Using his redesigned helmet, that number was reduced by 55% to just 6,400 radians per second squared.  By reducing rotation in all directions, we see a reduction in rotational acceleration injuries.

One manufacturer in 2012, Bauer, the number- one helmet maker in ice hockey, released a helmet they called, "Suspend-Tech," which is made using that same technology that Mr. Hallidin developed.  It is the first attempt by a mainstream company to include a rotational layer in contact-sports helmets.

I think that unless we women (mothers, especially) demand that the NFL and helmet manufacturers change the standards by which these helmets are designed, there won't be much of a rush to change the way our men and boys are protected against concussive injuries.  Many of you readers are probably too young to remember the hue and cry by the car manufacturers against the necessity for installing seat belts in cars, back in the 1960's.  Ralph Nader was instrumental in forcing the industry to change by lobbying Congress to pass a law mandating seat belts in all cars.  I'm hoping that we individuals who care about the safety of our children will write e-mails or Tweets, or whatever we're doing to communicate these days, to our representatives to let them know that we want action on developing new safety standards for helmets.

This morning, before coming to the office, I listened to an interview with Tony Dorsett, a former running back with the Dallas Cowboys.  He said that he is suffering from memory loss which is increasing everyday.  He has a, "very short fuse," and is also very depressed....all symptoms of CTE.  I find this so very, very sad.  I'm afraid that the instance of these reports will only increase, in the future.

* An update to this information.  As of the Fall of 2014, scientists can now measure CTE by brain scan on live individuals.  We need no longer wait for a person to die before diagnosing this life-threatening condition. 

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