Helmet Project
Concussions and brain injuries occur when a severe impact to the head causes the brain to shake inside of the skull and possibly hit the skull. An example of this kind of impact could be someone falling down a flight of stairs and bumping their head a few times on their tumble down. In this situation, the person's head is not protected and so their brain is free to bounce around each time they hit their head. Although you most likely won't be wearing safety gear around your house, it is still important to wear them when doing physical activities. When you wear a helmet, your head is never guaranteed complete protection. However, their purpose is simply to prevent direct impact with your head. Helmets are designed to distribute a force over a larger area (the helmet) and prevent damage to the skin which could lead to profuse bleeding. In certain cases where your face is exposed even when your head may be protected, I recommend wearing a protective face mask. Some situations where face injuries can occur are in sports like baseball, volleyball, hockey, soccer and even cheer leading. Even though facial injuries are not as common as head injuries, they can also cause concussions or some form of brain injury. One sport in particular I would like to focus on is baseball/softball. In 2006, high school baseball was recorded to have the lowest injury rate in sports. However, according to this study by the National Athletic Trainers Association, baseball was the leading cause of eye injuries and accounts for half of all mouth injuries that were sports-related. Although not all facial injuries can cause brain injury, wearing eye protectors and face masks can greatly reduce the risk of getting a severe head injury. |
There was one story of a high school softball player who got a concussion during practice by receiving a blow to the face when she missed catching a pop fly. The so-called "softball" did not live up to its name on that day. The ball hit just below the eye and part of the nose. The girl suffered excessive bleeding from the nose because of the impact. But seconds after she fell to the ground, her teammates said, she began to have a seizure which lead to her biting her tongue which created more bleeding. The girl reported to having no memory of the event, only remembering the ball coming at her face and waking up in a hospital bed. The coach did try to keep her conscious after the impact by asking her questions like, "Where are you?", "Where do you live?", "Do you know what happened?". The girl couldn't even tell them her own name. This was a sign that the impact had caused a brain injury. Luckily, her injury was just short of causing a broken nose, but still affected her sensitivity to things that would have never previously caused problems. The girl suffered long-term effects from the incident like TMJ disorder, frequent headaches and difficulty concentrating in school. This was the first severe injury I ever experienced in my life and it happened because of a lack of safety measures and one moment of bad judgement. Now, I make sure that my face and head is well protected whenever I do any kind of physical activity so that I can ensure my own protection from any physical impairment. Say "No" to YOLOing and think of YODO instead: You only die once. I suggest wearing a helmet shown in the image to the left when doing a potentially harmful sport. This will guarantee your face and head protection and keep you looking safe and stylish! |