Women's lacrosse is currently under going a transition where helmets are being introduced to the sport. The helmets are not the big bulky helmets the men wear but a smaller fabric covered helmet which will slow down the impact of a stick on the head. Those unfamiliar with the rules of women's lacrosse should note that checks to the head are illegal and result in a 3 minute removal from the game. A study by Oeur, Zanetti, and Hoshizaki found that helmets reduce direct hits to the head so that they are below typical concussion velocities but do very little to protect from sudden changes in speed. Since many concussions in the women's game do come from sudden head movements a helmet would be useless. Besides the helmets being ineffective against the common type of concussion they eliminate the guilt and taboo typically associated with hitting an opponent on there bare head. It is believed that adding helmets will encourage females to take riskier checks and increase the amount of concussions since the helmet isn't nearly as protective as the males.
In conclusion helmets have helped to lower concussions among young athletes but assist in preventing only one of many major concussion causes. It is important to do more research on helmets and causes of concussions in women's lacrosse to keep the players safe. The best way to protect the players is to teach them about safety and identifying the symptoms of a concussion.
Sources
Ferguson, R. (2014). Exploring gender differences in rates of concussions and traumatic brain injuries in 14 commonly-played sports: A descriptive epidemiological analysis. 142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition.
Oeur, R. A., Zanetti, K., Hoshizaki, T. B. (2014). Angular Acceleration Responses of American Football, Lacrosse and Ice Hockey Helmets Subject to Low-Energy Impacts. IRCOBI Conference 1:81-92
The helmets used in the study are thinner fabric coated helmets, instead of their massive hard plastic counterparts that are used in the male version of lacrosse. Do you think that maybe implementing these same massive helmets that male lacrosse players use could help reduce concussion rates among female lacrosse players?
ReplyDeleteI understand how sudden changes in head speed as a result of a slash to the head can result in coup and counter-coup injuries to the brain, resulting in concussion. But wouldn't reducing the velocity of the slash itself lead to a smaller change in head speed? I feel like reducing one, would reduce the other, but I could be wrong. Very cool research, and I can definitely see the application to concussions. Just wondering if giving females the massive male lax helmet could further reduce concussion rates.
Also, I was curious how the rates of concussion compare between female and male lacrosse athletes, and if that can be related to their helmets.
Paul, the rules for men's and women's lacrosse are different enough that comparing the two might not be helpful. Men's lacrosse is a contact sport and women's lacrosse is limited contact. I imagine that regardless of the presence of helmets in women's lacrosse, women will be at less risk for a concussion than men due to the differences in rules.
DeleteKayla, this is an interesting post. I think that my first thought was that wearing helmets might be detrimental for the reasons that you stated: false sense of security and less concern over making contact with another player. There are arguments to be made on both sides, but I think of an article that I read recently suggesting that bikers who ride without helmets are at no more risks than bikers who wear a helmet. The reason is that the bikers take more precautions when they do not have a helmet and car drivers tend to give a wider berth to helmet-less riders than their helmet-wearing counterparts. Interesting, but not enough to make me stop wearing my helmet. It will be interesting to see if helmets are introduced to women's lacrosse and I hope that an effort is made to track any effect that such a change would have on concussion incidence.
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