Seemingly Rising Numbers of Concussions: What Can Be Done?

by Chemistry66 on Dec 14, 2011 6:34 PM EST

Article: The NHL All-Concussion Team Would Win a Lot of Games

This may be featured in tomorrow's FlyBy, but it was just posted up on Puck Daddy. It's an article that puts into perspective just how many players are dealing with concussions right now, including a lot of major players on teams. Already on the list are Giroux, Crosby, Skinner, Mike Richards, Schenn, Pronger, Letang, Pitkanen, and more. And those listed in the article were just some of the better players. It seems like lately, there's been so many more concussions. It could be just because so much attention was given to the Crosby issue from last year that we're noticing them more now, but he's even having symptoms again. It could be due to the articles on players like Boogaard, whose many concussions are reported to have been a factor in his death. Whatever the reason, I wonder if there are ways of minimizing the concussions. Dropping the enforcer position would only do so much good, as a lot of the current concussions weren't even due to fighting.

What other fixes could drop these concussion numbers? Are the numbers really so much more than normal, or just being noticed more than previous years?

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Better helmets?

Mr. Corsi Fenwick, you confuse the hell outta me.

by zachtbhood on Dec 14, 2011 8:26 PM EST reply actions

This is the obvious answer. So-called hockey helmets border on useless, unless you still are trying to protect the soft spot in your unformed skull.

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by MaximumTalbot on Dec 15, 2011 11:19 AM EST up reply actions

They really aren’t. The way they are worn makes them ineffective. When the chin strap is not tightened, the helmet can’t do what it is designed to do.

being obnoxious and self righteous while ignoring the point since 9/29/11

by DLJr on Dec 15, 2011 11:35 AM EST up reply actions

They aren’t even as substantial as the bike helmets people wear nowadays. I admit – I haven’t worn a hockey helmet in more than 25 years. But they just don’t have the coverage or shaping to manage the impacts, do they?

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by MaximumTalbot on Dec 15, 2011 4:14 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah they really do. Something you can’t stop, but if you if you tighten the actual helmet properly, and then do your chin strap up halfway decent, it will sit on your head correctly and provide a fair amount of protection. I’m not saying they can’t still be improved, but I don’t think they are being worn as intended. Besides the visible chin strap, the other part not visible is if you have the actual helmet tightened correctly to your head. I know I went through a period where I would wear it one “click/crew” (depending what era helmet you had) looser than it should be so I could wear the helmet tilted back a bit. While it kept pucks and sticks from hitting and gashing my head, it did nothing to truly protect from impact as it wasn’t sitting on my head properly.

Now I’m a little smarter about these things and actually wear it to protect myself. My new helmet even has a dial inside to dial it to a proper fit on my head similar to what I wear snowboarding. It’s great because it’s both comfortable and fits properly to protect my head. Helmets are much safer than they are getting credit for IMO; not that there aren’t improvements that could still be made.

being obnoxious and self righteous while ignoring the point since 9/29/11

by DLJr on Dec 15, 2011 4:31 PM EST up reply actions

Bigger testicles?

I'm kind of a dick.

by Vansteel on Dec 14, 2011 9:03 PM EST reply actions 2 recs

Better helmets, perhaps, or softer ones. G’s concussion was completely accidental, so there’s not much you can do about that. I think a softer shell and more padding is one of the things the league should look into to help prevent concussions.

Awaiting the return of the G-stache

by Philly37 on Dec 14, 2011 10:06 PM EST reply actions

I thought of two things, one make them wear the same helmets speed skaters do (good luck trying to get the players wear those) and the other is padding the walls somehow, or somewhat- maybe leave the bottom 6-12" of the boards unpadded to allow the puck to move? It also seems to me like there should be some kind of alternative to the glass they have now that is more forgiving to getting hit. We’re in the 21st century, after all.

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by goldomatic on Dec 15, 2011 12:42 AM EST reply actions

I like that you are thinking beyond the helmets. I don’t know how people expect helmets to stop a human brain from moving inside of the skull, but okay.

There has to be things that can be fixed beyond what players wear. Sure, shoulder pads may help, but what about extending the surface area of an ice rink? Maybe go the opposite direction and slow the game down by adding the red line back or instituting no-touch icing. Maybe the NHL stops shoveling snow off the ice at ever TV timeout. Maybe limit the number of players who can dress any night to 19, making teams choose more carefully who they dress. Maybe you start calling the instigator penalty so many people love to hate.

There’s a lot more that can be done besides just getting better helmets. Even the new research that shows how helmets don’t prevent concussions doesn’t change a whole lot about the helmet.

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by Geoff Detweiler on Dec 15, 2011 5:31 PM EST up reply actions

on the icing front, I was thinking a lacrosse-type play- instead of touching the puck, if you’re the first person to have his stick cross a line (either the goal line or the faceoff dot), that determines whether or not there is icing. That keeps the hustle element in play, while limiting hi-speed collisions near the boards.

Babe, Bucky, Buckner, Boone, BALTIMORE!!!

by goldomatic on Dec 15, 2011 6:24 PM EST up reply actions

Automatic 2-game suspension if a player knocks out his own teammate.

by GregF on Dec 15, 2011 8:12 AM EST reply actions

There’s no single solution, but any steps that could reduce the number of concussions by even 5% is worth exploring. Several smaller efforts that make little impacts can still add up.

I think there’s something to be said for a push to get players to try to be more in control of their bodies when they’re on the ice. Most collisions are inevitable, but I think that sometimes there’s an element of extreme recklessness that leads to more collisions than are necessary. I realize that they’ve been preaching “keep your head up” for years and haven’t gotten nearly as far as they should have, but anything that reduces even some of the unnecessary recklessness, like the way Upshall sent Bartulis into the boards last year, could be one small step toward reducing the overall numbers.

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by DragonGirl0583 on Dec 16, 2011 12:14 AM EST reply actions

I have recently received a concussion playing in a mens league game, simply cause a guy took it way too seriously and gave me the old Matt Cooke. The only way these injuries go away is when players start respecting the health of the individual they are hitting. When it’s from behind or a direct shot at the head, that is not clean hockey. You are never taught that as a kid, nor is it something any coach of mine has ever suggested, much less encouraged.

I don’t want the physicality out of the game, more for players to abide by the rules. And injuries happen. Hockey is a war of attrition. But these are the same rules you play growing up, nothing changes in the pros. There’s absolutely no hitting from behind or head shots allowed at the youth level. Simply put, players need to be more responsible for their actions on the ice. No more chicken winging guys in the head, boarding or cheap shots. You can have the best helmet on earth, but it won’t protect you from a blindside hit that scrambles your brain so the only option is for players to change their approach.

by samu el jax sun on Dec 16, 2011 1:05 PM EST reply actions

How does this help the players who’ve received concussions from accidents?

by Phalange on Dec 16, 2011 3:16 PM EST up reply actions

Crosby’s is especially concerning, he didn’t even get hit in the head. It looked like a very benign hit

Babe, Bucky, Buckner, Boone, BALTIMORE!!!

by goldomatic on Dec 16, 2011 6:27 PM EST up reply actions

injuries are going to happen, but I think the vast majority are from player neglect, not pure accident. There’s no magic cure, but there are ways of preventing them.

Giroux for example wears a bauer 4500 helmet, which was first made in the 90’s. The newer helmets are much better at protecting the head, but most players stick with older models. I think if Giroux had a newer helmet, it might not of prevented his concussion but it certainly wouldn’t hurt.

That lid is so out of date that it really doesn’t do too much on the concussion front. It’ll protect you from the random stick, but a good hit will go right through it direct to the brain.

by samu el jax sun on Dec 16, 2011 11:32 PM EST up reply actions

its actually a cooper helmet bauer rebranded, its ancient technology next to the m11 and the easton s19

by samu el jax sun on Dec 16, 2011 11:33 PM EST up reply actions

I wear the 4500, and in the summer fell straight backwards and slammed my head on the ice, and I haven’t had. Salamander. Toolbox. any noticeable side effects.

I'm kind of a dick.

by Vansteel on Dec 18, 2011 8:17 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs

You win the internets.

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by iJewJitsu on Dec 20, 2011 2:06 PM EST up reply actions

Concussions can only be slightly mitigated by helmets, or really, any “safety” protocol put in to protect players. It is not the hit to the head that is causing the concussion…. it is the brain decelerating on the inside of the cranium. Very little may be done to mitigate the way the internal anatomy of the human body reacts to deceleration. Padding exterior to the head cushions the outside, but does very little to curtail interior deceleration of the brain, and to some extent, the spinal column.

I do somewhat see how going back to smaller, softer pads for all players might help. At least there would then be some motive for the checking player to absorb some of the impact, whereas nowadays the pads are rock solid and you really don’t feel a damn thing when you blow someone up. Seriously. This generation of pads is out of control.

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by dinkster on Dec 18, 2011 4:55 PM EST reply actions