The Effect of Protective Headgear on Head Injuries and Concussions in Adolescent Football (Soccer) Player
The DBANDS offers a greater protection against head injury in physical sports activities. It also acts as a significant enhancement in sweat absorption, improving visibility and increasing safety in several diverse sports activities. The extra band at the top of the head will absorb trauma as it acts as a cushion.
Basketball players' performance suffered because of compromised vision when the headband would slide down over their eyes. The DBANDS, are uniquely designed headbands, has extra material for increased sweat absorption and they add protection, which results in better performance. They are fashionably designed to maintain their position over the forehead area, making them comfortable and immune to slippage.
J S Delaney1,3, A Al-Kashmiri2, R Drummond3, J A Correa4
1 McGi ll Sport Medicine Clinic, Montreal, Cana da
2 Accident and Emer gency Department, Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Oman
3 Department of Emergency Medicine, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Canada
4 Department of Mathematics and Statistics, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
Objective: To examine the effects of protective headgear in adolescent football (soccer) players.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: Oakville Soccer Club, Oakville, Canada.
Participants: Football players aged 12–17 years.
Intervention: A questionnaire examining the 2006 football season using self-reported symptoms.
Main outcome measures: The number of concussions experienced during the current football season, the duration of symptoms, injuries to the head and face and any associated risk factors for these injuries.
Results: In the population studied, 47.8% had experienced symptoms of a concussion during the current football year. 26.9% of athletes who wore headgear (HG) and 52.8% of those who did not wear headgear (No-HG) had concussions. Approximately 4 out of 5 athletes in each group did not realize they had suffered a concussion. More than one concussion was experienced by 50.0% of the concussed HG athletes and 69.3% of the concussed No-HG group. 23.9% of all concussed players experienced symptoms for at least 1 day or longer. Variables that increased the risk of suffering a concussion during the 2006 football year included being female and not wearing headgear. Being female and not wearing football headgear increased the risk of suffering an abrasion, laceration or contusion on areas of the head covered by football headgear.
Of course, studies have shown that the thicker the cushion and the degree of “give” afforded by the cushion will greatly contribute to head protection. Indeed, protection of the skull against a rigid helmet is aided by any and all material that protects the scalp and subsequent contents. There are multiple studies in the neurological fields testifying to the protection afforded to headgear, and this simply makes the headgear more comfortable to wear and further protects the helmet from the scalp. It is not designed to protect the head better than a helmet and the helmet (bicycling, football, boxing, etc.) is always recommended for protection on sports that would lend itself to this commodity.
Conclusion: Adolescent football players experience a significant number of concussions. Being female may increase the risk of suffering a concussion and injuries on the head and face, while the use of football headgear may decrease the risk of sustaining these injuries.
Published Online First: 5 July 2007. doi:10.1136/bjsm.2007.037689 British Journal of Sports Medicine 2008; 42:110-115
Copyright © 2008 BMJ Publishing Group Ltd & British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
ADDITIONAL HEADGEAR STUDY:
DBANDS are lightweight, comfortable and more than just functional. DBANDS are trendy, an infinitely customizable fashion accessory with just as much appeal on the street as in the stadium. DBANDS are also good for holding any hair style in place. This allows any athlete, pro or amateur to wear their hair how they want without it interrupting the flow of a competitive sport. DBANDS also are safer to wear than a regular headband because the extra band and/or bands provides a significant amount of blockage against sun rays during outside sports activities in the summer while still allowing circulation to the head.
*FDA testing on human models for head protection is obviously impossible. The cushion afforded to the head in any way shape or form is intrinsically protective, though this was never meant to take the place of a helmet, that is impractical in soccer, of course.
(Rick Goulding, MD) The testing done is not a double blind study, with humans falling onto their heads with and without the DBANDS, of course, but a number of anecdotal incidents have occurred including several athletes falling on the basketball court! Several players actually did fall on their back and their head struck the court, but frankly, they didn’t feel a thing and they thought they were pretty well protected with the DBANDS.
The fact that several professional athletes and hip hop artist are jumping on the DBANDS bandwagon is good reason for us to brand ourselves in the marketplace, with high-exposure, the DBANDS are on its way to becoming the latest trend in sportswear today. Its unique design makes it eye catching and its multiple surfaces allow more space for customized corporate or team logos. A Very Marketable Product!
*A recent study by Stephen Landy, MD, an associate clinical neurology professor, at the University of Tennessee and the director of The Wesley Headache Clinic, proved that headbands that deliver heat, cold, or pressure may help relieve headache pain and/or shorten the length of a headache among sufferers – without the side effects of risky medications.
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