In a nice piece of reporting on MSNBC we see a good review of the challenge of head gear for young soccer players. as parents we want to protect our children and a web site offering a helmet that claims t reduce concussion by 50% is likely to attract some serious attention. Problem is these claims are not backed up by science and wishing this were the case is different to proving it to be the case
Importantly as they point out – the negative effect of wearing a device that claims to reduce injury and protect you has the effect of making players more aggressive and at greater risk. The maker fo the helmet points to the experience of ski helmets but these two devices bear no relationship or similarity. Ski helmets are based on the polycarbonate hard shell helmet found in motorcycle and American football and there is long established evidence and science to validate their effectiveness. You won’t find a hard helmet on the soccer field as this becomes a danger to other players.
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There is nothing easy about the choices – soccer is a contact sport and the sage advice at the end to strengthen the neck muscles is spot on
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