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September 06, 2005
Head Cases
Posted by Nick
Do helmets help? As in many things, it depends:
Do helmets actually help? The answer, said Shealy, is a surprising yes and no. Studies of football players show that helmet use has indeed resulted in a dramatic decline in serious head injuries. The same can't be said for other sports. Shealy said the rate of fatal head injuries in skiing is unchanged, despite the fact that 33 percent of skiers now wear helmets.
In bicycling and hockey, he said, the rate of serious head injuries has actually increased.
The problem, he speculates, isn't with helmets but with human nature.
"You put on a helmet and now you think you're safer. For some people, that means they can engage in riskier behavior, do things they probably shouldn't, such as ski faster or be more aggressive in games. It's not necessarily a conscious decision."
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Nick Schulz is the Editor of Tech Central Station and has worked in media circles and the ideas industry as a writer, editor, television producer and policy analyst. His writings have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Slate, The National Post of Canada, The Baltimore Sun, Investor's Business Daily, The Washington Times, National Review, Reason, Policy Review, and several other publications. He is also, it should be said, a rabid sports fan whose fandom is inversely proportional to his overall athletic ability.
1. Primis on September 8, 2005 11:59 AM writes...
I can't speak for the other sports, but hockey's increase is easily-explained and -fixable.
Part of the problem is, as is mentioned, a mentality. But it's a mentality from years of playing in high school, college, juniors, etc, with full face-guards or visors being mandatory. guys then come into the league and, when checking, lead with their face (Dallas Drake had an awful time with this when he first came into the league. Head lead with his face and get mangled by an elbow or stick or shoulder). So they end up taking all these extra blows to the face that the vets know how to avoid after a while.
Also, the players have just plain gotten bigger and faster. Scott Stevens retiring alone should reduce the number of concussions dished out in the league this year, but it remains to be seen whether or not other bruising defenseman will also tone it down a bit with the new rules. They're just so big anymore (look at Zdeno Chara).
So I think the helmets are doing their jobs in hockey still. It's just the game has changed but player mentalities haven't. Maybe the rules changes in the NHL this year will help that some, since the lower levels don't seem to have quite the same head injury problems.
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