Head injuries are the biggest risk in playing football. running at high speeds and colliding with one another, a head injury is bound to happen. first a little history lesson on the evolution of the football helmet. 1903 is where the first helmet shows up in football. the helmet is a thin strap of leather. the helmet was rarely worn by the players, the helmet was originally designed to prevent the dreaded "cauliflower ear". when head injuries were still on the rise they started re-inventing the football helmet. a full leather helmet came out, a harder leather helmet came out. the helmets eventually became a rule of the game. they started using harder leather and plastic in the 1950s. eventually they came out with the face mask in the late 1950s. the evolution grew to what you see on the field today. It is true that these helmets have prevented numerous brain injuries but are the modern helmets really as effective as we have been lead to believe?
In a CBS article I read I became questionable as to if these helmets really do protect against TBI as effectively as they say. The study revealed that the helmets currently used on the field may do little to protect against hits on the side of the head which can cause TBI. I was shocked when I read on average, football helmets reduce only 20% risk to brain injury when compared to mot wearing a helmet. The tests being conducted on the helmets in the construction and engineering puts its main focus on direct linear impact instead of putting some focus on rotational forces. This is not to depress how much helmets do in protecting brain injury. in the test, waring a helmet reduces your risk of skull fracture by 60-70% and reduces your risk of brain tissue bruising by 70%. In short, these helmets are a BIG BIG BIG help in preventing TBI but it just makes you think and question whether we can create a better helmet that is more effective in all of the aspects of force on the head.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2014/02/17/study-commonly-used-football-helmets-do-little-to-protect-against-traumatic-brain-injuries/