Preventing Concussions

Buyer Beware (Part Two): NFHS Has NOT Endorsed Use of Football Helmet Covers As Reducing Concussion Risk

In recent weeks I have written a number of blogs about claims by equipment manufacturers that their products prevent or reduce the risk of concussions.  

First, it was to call attention to a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Brain Pad, a mouth guard manufacturer, barring the company from claiming that its mouthguard reduced the risk of concussion.

Next, it was to deconstruct some carefully-worded claims in a press release by a company named Unequal Technologies touting supplemental helmet protective pads utilizing so-called CRT (concussion reduction technology).

Beware of claims that external football helmet pads, now permitted in high school football, actually prevent or reduce the risk of concussion, says MomsTEAM founder, Brooke de Lench.

MomsTEAM Celebrates 12th Anniversary with Summer of Football (Part One)

Today is MomsTEAM's twelfth anniversary! It was on this day in 2000 that our website went live.

On our anniversary in years past I have blogged about what happened in the previous 12 months in youth sports, but this year the focus will be on youth football.

Why the narrower focus? Well, for two big reasons.

This has been the summer of football for MomsTEAM for two big reasons: first, we have been working on an exciting concussion project focusing on a football program in Oklahoma, and second, we have just returned from a visit to the Mecca of football: the New York City headquarters of the National Football League.

Buyer Beware (Part 1): Claims That Equipment Can Prevent Concussions Too Good To Be True

It seems that not a day goes by without news about a new product that supposedly reduces the risk of concussion.

Almost invariably, it turns out that the manufacturer's claims are not supported by peer-reviewed scientific evidence.  But that doesn't seem to stop most of them, until, at least, their claims attract the attention of the Federal Trade Commission. Youth football game at line of scrimmage

It seems that not a day goes by without news about a product that supposedly reduces the risk of concussion. Almost invariably, it turns out that the manufacturer's claims are not supported by peer-reviewed scientific evidence.  But that doesn't seem to stop most of them, at least until their claims attract the attention of the FTC.

FTC Says No Proof That Mouthguard Reduces Concussion Risk: Not Surprising To MomsTEAM

For years, it seems, MomsTEAM has been getting e-mails from mouth guard manufacturers touting their products as reducing the risk of concussion, despite the lack of any peer-reviewed scientific studies to support their claims.  Three youth football players watching action

The announcement by the Federal Trade Commission that claims by mouthguard manufacturer Brain-Pad that its product reduced the risk of concussion are not supported by the scientific evidence is just what I have been saying for years.

Parents Rethinking Contact Sports

Local youth football organizers in Minnesota say they are experiencing a 20 percent decline in registrations this year, citing increased awareness of the potential of serious injury and parents who are apparently picking other sports for their 3rd and 4th grade children.

Preventing Head Injuries in Football: No Tackling With Crown Of Helmet!

In the four years I have been sharing my expertise on how to prevent helmet-crown related injuries in football, there has been an increase of concussion awareness here on MomsTeam and all over the country.   But such steps as baseline concussion testing are meaningless if the cause of the initial concussion is not addressed, because the player will suffer a more severe concussion without identifying the cause.

The way to prevent concussions and serious head and spinal injuries in football is for parents to make sure that coaches are trained on how to teach players to avoid tackling with the crown of their helmets.

Equipment Group Issues Warning To Athletes and Parents about Concussion Claims

The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) warns athletes and their parents to be skeptical of claims that products such as head bands, supplements or mouth guards reduce the incidence of concussion because none supported by scientific research and peer-reviewed studies.

Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football Surprisingly High

Youth football players get hit on the helmet almost as hard as older players but not nearly as often, says researchers at Virginia Tech.

"Wide-Eye'd Blind": A Must-See Football Video

If you are an athletic director, football coach, game official or parent concerned about reducing the number of concussions and catastrophic head, neck and spinal injuries in the sport and have 25 minutes to spare, my non-profit, Train 'Em Up Academy, has produced an enlightening, empowering and powerful video, called "Wide-Eye'd Blind."

Why do I call it that? Because as a nation, we are literally standing by, with our eyes wide open but blind to the fact that our greatest resource, our young people, are suffering needless injury in the name of sport.  

Football Safety: A Properly Fitted Helmet Is Critical

New guidelines have been issued for ensuring that a football helmet fits properly, which a 2012 unpublished research paper found was a simple but effective step in minimizing risk of concussion and catastrophic brain injury.
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