The helmet and its improvements for safety.
Bicycles, the one way we got to move around as kids, and as adults it is the one way we get around too, because cars are mainstream. Safety is an issue when it comes to bicycling and that why the helmet is an important factor when it comes to safety for bikes. Every year, in the U.S, nearly 900 persons die from injuries due to bicycle crashes and over 500,000 persons are being treated in emergency departments. Head injuries are by far the greatest concern for bicyclists, causing one third of emergency department visits, two thirds of hospital admissions, and three fourths of deaths. There are other injuries such as facial injuries, which occur at a rate nearly the same to head injuries. It is hard to trust that helmets would be protective against head injury, but establishing the real effectiveness of helmets is important.
Since the beginning of cycling there have been head injuries. Head injuries increased as more roads were being paved. The materials used to pave the roads are macadam and asphalt and they are unforgiving when it comes to crashes. During the 1800’s high wheeler users in clubs started wearing pitch helmets, they noticed that head injuries were becoming a problem. A helmet made of crushable material such as Pith was likely the best option at the time. When impacting the ground the material would break, but there was fewer cars, roads and competitions back then, therefore it was designed for a single impact. At the turn of the century many Racing Cyclist began using “Helmets” made of leather-covered padding, initially with a ring of leather around the head and a wool ring above that. Soon enough the style had changed, the ring of leather around the head was supplemented by...
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...may look, it can save your life or prevent any traumatic injuries. Technology is improving and the series of test being conducted too. Cycling clubs and racers are trying to protect themselves as much as they can, and it makes them happy to see that helmets will be improving as the years go by.
In conclusion the helmet has been a huge help in preventing more head injuries. The helmet has been improved throughout the years and since it originated it has followed through with its purpose. We are in the year 2013 and yet scientist are trying to improve the helmet as much as they can, the future to come from the helmet is very bright. There are faster and stronger cars out there, so cyclist are bound to get hit more, the helmet is yet to get stronger. Personally helmets are a big part of me I enjoy cycling a lot, but I know there is a lot of safety that comes with it.
By this it means it allows for less “cracked skulls”, scars, wounds and so on. It gives a stronger protection on the softer part of the skull which is more prone to damage... ... middle of paper ... ... arch 2014]. ASTM Sports Headgear and Helmets Standards.
American football is full of exciting competition, but do we realize the danger! Helmet safety in football remains an immense problem as the sport accounts for the highest incidence of concussions. Since leather football helmets, the technology for safer helmets has improved drastically and continue to improve. The development of newly designed helmets and technology has lowered the risk of head injuries for players. Furthermore, improvements in helmet testing methods have led to better understanding head injuries and the protectiveness of the helmet. In respect, football helmet safety still remains a challenge, such as a necessity of a proper categorization system to rank helmets and regulations to improve helmet safety. Regardless, standards and regulations attempt to address helmet safety through government intervention and a proper measuring system for football helmets. Despite the cultural perception of football, measures are taken to ensure safety, such as the reforms and education with regards to playing safer football. I intend to address the technological advances and regulation of football towards the discussion of helmet safety. Therefore the aggresivity in football’s culture should embrace stronger helmet standards and regulation that are promoted through improved testing methods and innovations because of the need to prevent further dangerous head injuries, especially concussions.
Football is a sport your mother warns you not to play, but your father is on the other side of the argument, encouraging you to do it because it is a “man’s game”. Even though you don’t want ruin your manhood, your mother is always right. Football is in the top three of most injuries caused in sports (HEALTH GRADES, INC) and a majority of it comes from concussions. A concussion is a temporary unconsciousness caused by a blow to the head. Football helmets are used to prevent that from happening and is still a battle today on creating the perfect helmet to protect these young athletes. The football helmet has undergone significant transformation during the evolution of the game. To find out how this important head gear came to be, you have to
How well do helmets prevent concussions from occurring and prevent the development of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE)?
("N.F.L. Players’ Union Weighs the Benefits and the Pitfalls of Helmet Sensors. This technology helps prevent a player with a concussion that he doesn’t know about from continuing to play during that game and cause more damage to his head that can last forever. Another good advancement is helmets that have a design that uses energy-managing materials and a facemask attachment system that disperses energy from frontal impacts. This helps prevent the head from taking the main part of the blow and disperses the energy to lessen the likelihood of becoming seriously injured from a hit. These types of helmets have a certain shelf life meaning you can only use them for so many years before they have to be replaced, this is beneficial so that the equipment stays up to the new standards of safety for the players as well as prevents them from becoming stressed over the years and breaking.
For children in this group, a helmet can save you or reduce the severity of the damage via 53%. The same studies, cited using the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, show a forty-four% prevention and reduction in injury among adults.
In American football, helmets are required to decrease traumatic brain injuries and have been successful in doing so. A large part in the success of helmet design is improvements in technology. The sizes of athletes have gone up to make football more dangerous. To protect against brain injury, helmets designs have changed to become heavier and wider, filled within the space are energy absorbing materials, air space and padding to protect the skull upon impact. Originally, helmets were designed to prevent only traumatic brain injuries, but technology is advancing to fill the gap of concussions. Until recently, the seriousness of concussions were not considered part of the equation that needed to be addressed, so manufactures did not utilized in constructing helmets to address this issue (Post et al. 653). Upon predicting risk of concussions in tests, by themselves linear and rotational acceleration are not suitable measurements for modern helmets. These testing measurements do not address the rotational forces and minor hits to the brain which are associated with concussions (Post et al. 654). Given the seriousness of concussions in contact sports, more attention is given to prevent and reduce concussions through testing methods and advancing technology, stronger regulation and changes to the sport. As stated in the article involving the National Football League (NFL), “The risk involved in playing sports are also very real. The NFL is struggling with serious mental and physical health problems because they sustained repeated mild traumatic brain injuries, is what concussions are called. (“Concussions and Marketing of Sports Equipment” 6).
Helmets drastically reduce the tremendous number of deaths caused by head injuries as well as reducing the severity of any ...
While the use of helmets does aid in protecting players from brain trauma, they also increase the risky behavior of players; this is called risk compensation. Risk compensation is the adjustment of individual behavior, responding to the perceived changes in risk (TheFreeDictionary.com). Most people that wear helmets have a pre-conceived idea that, because they have a helmet on, they can possess more daring behaviors and be fine. The helmet is basically thought of as a tool to hit harder, or improve performance in today’s culture. Adventure writer and pilot, Lane Wallace (2011) accurately understands the dangers of helmets being used incorrectly, and how they are used as weapons instead of safety. Wallace also theorizes like the NFL, a change in football culture and of viewpoints towards helmets would vastly reduce trauma to the
Even though the advantages of the helmet designs are extensive, the football players are put in dangerous and sometimes unexpected situations on the field. Players are running and hitting each other at full speed while not taking into consideration what they are doing, and considering the consequences. Sometimes with head related injuries, these players may not feel any symptoms until later on in the day, or even day...
Many reasons for this big change in sports related head injuries, mostly has to do with the protective equipment used and the regulation...
Assistant City Manager Mike Wanchick said, "A helmet seems to give a false sense of security to the cyclist, who feel less vulnerable and may ride less cautiously," He then went on to add. "As a result, riders wearing a helmet are more likely to have an accident." (Post) Now, the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute (BHSI) statistics show four states accounted for 40 percent of bicycle deaths in 2000, With Texas as one of them. Yet, Wanchick says that "our basic position is that bicycle safety is a parents' primary obligation," adding " What hurts kids are cars and we need to be working the traffic citations out there* people who are licensed to drive cars, not kids learning to ride bicycles." (Post) Even though 10 of the largest cities in Texas have bicycle-helmet ordinances including Dallas and Fort Worth. But, Richardson Texas choose to not act on this issue, but turn a blind eye to one of the silent injuries and the prevention of it by wearing a simple helmet. The BHSI says the statistics show about 800 bicyclists die in the US every year. Plus another one in eight of the cyclists injured has a brain injury.
1. Studies have shown that wearing a helmet can reduce your chances of head injury by 85%
This topic is a constant and heated debate among people. Many people argue that the rider should have the freedom to choose whether or not to wear a helmet. Although, many people feel this is a selfish perspective because when others have accidents, it becomes other people’s concerns. This is said because some people believe that the families, loved ones, or tax payers will be paying for the rider’s injury bills. Along with freedom rights, riders complain that the helmets are heavy. With the weight of the helmet, arguments are made that injuries could increase with the spinal cord or neck. Likewise, people think that helmets can become a distraction or “get in the way”. When riders say this, they are referring to their ability to see or hear what is going on in the environment. “These senses have been studied in the context of motorcycle activity and do not appear to be impaired, and in certain circumstances, may be improved” (Auerbach). Research has been shown that helmets do not cause distractions or impair hearing or vision
It’s true what everyone talks about safety – you are the key to your safety, when you do it safely you do it the right way and the best gift you can give to your family is to always stay safe. We have been taught by our parents and teachers to be cautious while doing a number of things. That’s very essential in our daily lives, because one needs to be extra cautious to prevent unavoidable accidents. However, mishaps do happen everywhere in the safest of places, no matter how careful we are in our actions. It is highly unpredictable, what’s going to happen the very next instant. There are numerous incidences we come across like simple trips, falls, cuts due to sharp objects, burns or sudden worsening of a person’s health condition, causing