1.7-3 million concussions occur in professional to recreation sports each year. Millions of kids and adults have to struggle through the pains of CTE and concussions year round. Concussions may not be the most serious injury in sports, but it is the most common. It is important to know the causes and effects of these injuries and what they can do to a person in the short and long term periods of time. Concussions in sports have raised the eyes and ears of people nationwide as the effects in the athletes physical, cognitive, and emotional well being as prevention research and studies are done everyday to try and prevent or slow the rate of concussions in sports. Although concussions are a recurring injury, there are a few things that can be put in place to either reduce the pain and trauma, or to get rid of the risk as much as possible. 

Keeping a close eye on players in practice and incorporating a “helmetless practice"(Dotinga 1), is some of many solutions that can result in a limitation of concussions in sports. Lots of head injuries are usually a result from practice or a lack of care/responsibility. Some players tend to not take practice as serious resulting in a higher chance of them receiving an injury. For example, in spring camps, professional teams will have no pads practice.​​ There was a test that was done for helmetless tackling and seeing the decrease of head on contact was. It was later on posted that the head injuries after one season had “30% fewer impacts” (Train 1). This means no physical contact whatsoever between players. If players could have that mindset with pads on in a normal practice, the chances of concussions will be reduced. Some may think of this idea as stupid or a lack of hustle for the players but don't realize athletes can practice with the same intensity without pads. Researchers have found it very beneficial to practice without helmets to protect athletes’  heads to teach youth and professional athletes that the head is not a weapon and it shouldn't be used as one. The drills football players do in practice are seen and felt as normal without helmets on. A recent study “revealed that those who went through the helmet-less practices had 30 percent fewer head impacts over the season compared to those who practiced with helmets” (Dotinga 1).  When players' heads are not protected, they feel as though it is natural to keep their heads out of contact. This study can be put into place from youth kids playing tackle football all the way to the NFL. This same study is used for lacrosse, as well. If the kids naturally keep heads out of contact with helmetless practice, it will teach children that the head is not a weapon to be used. Other sports that do not use protection for the head do this all the time and know that the head needs to get out of the way if something is coming at it. If football players and other contact sports had one practice without a helmet on they would see a huge difference.

Another simple way to reduce concussions in sports is teaching players the proper techniques to avoid direct contact to the head. In a “Human Kinetics article”, it shows that when players are prepared to correctly move their head out of harm's way, “the chances of concussions reduce significantly” (Human Kinetics 1). For example, in football, running with your head up is very important. The same skills apply on defense; don't tackle with your head, tackle “with your shoulders up, back straight ,knees bent and feet underneath shoulder width apart” (Human Kinetics 1). Tackling or running with your head is the number one cause of concussions , especially in football. For other sports, it is a little bit easier to avoid head contact as there is not a sport with as much contact as American football. However, some athletes find it easier and more effective to use their heads to tackle an opposing opponent, also athletes find themselves creating more power and energy while running with their heads down. Athletes may feel as though they are increasing their power and energy running with their head down, however, the correct running form and production of energy comes from running with “your head up, your back straight, and shoulders level” (Luff 2). This article directly correlates to correct running form which is not to run with their head down and in harm's way. If players could take time to simply fix their running form their chances of concussions will reduce significantly.

Correct gear and equipment are essential to keep all players safe from injuries, especially concussions and head injuries. Most sports scientists are looking for new ways to keep players safe by increasing the protection in helmets to help reduce/eliminate the risk of concussions. In various sports like football, baseball, lacrosse, hockey, skiing and skateboarding, helmets should be “Well maintained, age appropriate…Appropriately certified for use” (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 1). Each sport that requires a helmet should go through these checks to make sure their heads are secured and will protect them from any contact. These older helmets may not be concussion proof yet, but researchers are finding new materials and experimenting with the shape of helmets to reduce the concussion risk. When playing a contact sport, head contact will occur and concussions will ultimately be inevitable. Concussions will happen, but an enhancement in protection like helmets and making sure the helmet is the right fit for the athlete will decrease the chances of concussions by a large amount. Some researchers have already found advancements and have put them to the test. The riddell axiom helmet has a visor that is directly connected to the helmet instead of a mask. The main difference between the axiom and other helmets is they make helmets for the specific player instead of building helmets for the position. These helmets are made to fit each player perfectly allowing the helmet to properly protect the players head. 

A concussion is a serious, yet common, sports injury that affects 1.7-3.0 million athletes per year. If scientists and researchers keep on the right path with the axiom helmet, a new helmet could arrive that could be game breaking and really put a dent in the concussion rate. Even if head injuries still occur with these fixes in place, the future engineering of helmet technology and proper technique can reduce the amount of concussions and injuries in general each year. 

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References 

Christine Luff, ACE-CPT. “8 Quick Fixes for Running Form.” Verywell Fit, Verywell Fit, 10 Aug. 2022, www.verywellfit.com/tips-for-proper-running-form-4020227#:~:text=Keep%20your%20posture%20straight%20and,do%20as%20they%20get%20fatigued. Accessed 25 Nov.2023

Concussion in Athletes | Michigan Medicine. https://www.uofmhealth.org/conditions-treatments/brain-neurological-conditions/concussion-athletes-neurosport. Accessed 15 Sep. 2023.

Dotinga, Randy. “Could Football Practice without Helmets Help Prevent Concussions?” CBS News, CBS Interactive, 31 Dec. 2015, www.cbsnews.com/news/could-football-practices-without-helmets-help-prevent-concussions/. Accessed 6 Oct. 2023

Giza, Christopher C., and Jeffrey S. Kutcher. “An Introduction to Sports Concussions.” Continuum : Lifelong Learning in Neurology, vol. 20, no. 6 Sports Neurology, Dec. 2014, pp. 1545–51. PubMed Central, https://doi.org/10.1212/01.CON.0000458975.78766.11.

“Helmet Safety.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20 Nov. 2020, www.cdc.gov/headsup/helmets/index.html. Accessed 13 Oct. 2023

“Keeping the Head out of Tackling.” Human Kinetics, us.humankinetics.com/blogs/excerpt/keeping-the-head-out-of-tackling. Accessed 12 Oct. 2023. 

Sports Concussion - OrthoInfo - AAOS. https://www.orthoinfo.org/en/diseases--conditions/sports-concussion/. Accessed 15 Sep. 2023.

Swartz, Erik E, et al. “Early Results of a Helmetless-Tackling Intervention to Decrease Head Impacts in Football Players.” Journal of Athletic Training, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4741245/.