Paul Stewart: The Tail Still Wags the Dog

The study to be fair Stewy was done the same way they test Football helmets...head to head collisions which isn't something you see often in hockey. Most of the concussion causing hits are done to the side of the head (in hockey anyway) an elbow here, a blindside hit there etc. I am not saying hockey helmets are the best but I find the independent testing a bit skeptic that's all. I do know that hockey equipment companies spend millions of dollars each year testing their helmets and even though they aren't perfect they know the game better and know the types of hits hockey players take more than an independent study. There is no such thing as a concussion free helmet and there never will be.

Thank you for that piece Paul.

I am a hockey player in an OFHL (old farts hockey league). By day I'm an Occupational Therapist and I'm married to a Physical Therapist. My wife and I have treated many, many individuals with head trauma over our nearly 45 collective years of in the field of rehabilitation. Sadly, we know firsthand the devastating nature of dealing with concussions.

I am also a father of 2 young boys (10 and 12) who both play hockey and football. I've spent hours and hours researching helmets and read countless articles and studies on their safety. What I found was, to your point, its more about money than anything else.

Football, like hockey is dominated by a few manufactures with lengthy tenure as the ones who "set the standard for helmet safety". Innovation and advancement are far too slow to meet safety needs. That's not to say they haven't tried, indeed many helmets are safer today than ever before. However getting REAL innovation and improvement through generations of existing technology and brand bias is a tall order to say the least. Moreover, I fear the gravity that needs to be overcome in order to pull away from the existing status quo while separating from the hefty financial implications to such change, is just too much for these companies to consider.

The one bright spot I found in the football arena came from a new company who has taken their expertise in motor sports helmets and applied it to football. SG Helmets (sghelmets.com) out of Indiana has literally broken the mold in my opinion. A simple web search will lead you to their seemingly successful story and yet they fight an uphill battle in getting a genuinely safer helmet to the masses.

One point to note here is that the increased safety provided is profoundly more visible in the youth market. This is due to their technology and how it significantly diminishes the weight of the helmet as carried by young and developing neck muscles. It's a pure example of physics at work.

I must also add here, I have no financial or otherwise motivating stake in SG Helmets. None whatsoever. I am simply a parent and an athlete who wants to put safety ahead of everything else, including my wallet as they are not inexpensive. What they are, is legitimately innovative with their "new technology" at least as it relates to football. Due to this and the physics behind it all, they are safer, especially when it comes to kids. I am hopeful to see such innovation make its way over to hockey as the Virginia Tech study shows it is much needed and long overdue.

Please Paul, continue to spread this word and maybe if enough folks see this and explore the SG helmet story the folks at SG will hear about it. Just maybe they could apply some of their fine work to the world of hockey helmets.

Our kids and the long term health of their brains are at stake here and frankly, I can think of nothing more important to a parent.

The study to be fair Stewy was done the same way they test Football helmets...head to head collisions which isn't something you see often in hockey. Most of the concussion causing hits are done to the side of the head (in hockey anyway) an elbow here, a blindside hit there etc. I am not saying hockey helmets are the best but I find the independent testing a bit skeptic that's all. I do know that hockey equipment companies spend millions of dollars each year testing their helmets and even though they aren't perfect they know the game better and know the types of hits hockey players take more than an independent study. There is no such thing as a concussion free helmet and there never will be.
- Stripes77

Valid points to be sure. The main message I take away from my own research (reading all the studies and articles I could find) is that the studies are but one factor in a complicated equation. In collision sports there will be concussions, you're absolutely right about that. However, the technology and know-how exists to make them safer.

What will it take for the manufacturers to make substantial improvements? Who will lead that charge? I'm not smart enough to have the answers to those questions but I'm sure of this, it is not going to be the NHL. They are an entertainment industry with the sole goal of being profitable. Maybe if we reverse the process by driving innovation from the perspective of youth safety we could get enough people pushing to influence the manufacturers.

I am not optimistic. Unless there is sufficient financial gain for the manufacturers it seems there is little hope of positive change in the near future.