Futbol, calcio, fussball, footie, or “the beautiful game”: these are just a few synonyms for the game we Americans refer to as soccer. The sport focuses heavily on endurance, skill, composure, creativity, and finesse; however, many seem to neglect physicality as a critical aspect of the game. With shin guards as the only form of protective wear, it is easy to sustain an injury while playing, especially a concussion. In fact, sport concussion statistics claims women soccer players have a 33% chance of receiving a concussion during their time playing the sport while it is predicted the men play with a reduced 19% chance. Women soccer ranked as the 3rd highest concussion rate among all sports and men soccer ranked 6th behind football, ice hockey, and lacrosse…all sports where the players are required to wear helmets.
Picture taken from http://www2.pictures.zimbio.com/gi/Chelsea+v+Southampton+Premier+League+aQgqk_Wv1pBx.jpg
Although it is rarely worn, soccer helmets do, in fact, exist. Anyone who follows professional soccer should be able to immediately recognize this man who plays “between the sticks”. Petr Cech, a Czech goalkeeper, is known by many as one of today’s greatest keepers, but he is recognized more often for being one of the only players in the world who sports that unmistakable black protective headgear. Ever since suffering a horrific head injury in 2006, the ex-Chelsea man wears the Full 90 Protective Helmet to reduce the chance of sustaining another concussion; however, could the protective helmets prove to be not as effective as they are marketed?
According to the Full 90 website, “the entire line of Full90 headgear has been designed to mitigate the typical impact forces that occur in soccer.” If one were to look more closely, the manner in which the helmets are marketed could potentially mislead consumers into believing that the headgear protects the user behind all impact forces in soccer. There is a disclaimer at the bottom of the website that reads, “WARNING: Designed to reduce severity of impacts to the head; however, no headgear can protect against all foreseeable impacts. Offers no protection to parts of the body it does not cover directly. Serious injury may occur even while using this product correctly.” Additionally, a scientific article about the effectiveness of headgear in soccer published by the British Journal of Sports Medicine explains an experiment they conducted in order to test the efficacy of the headgear. There were several controlled tests conducted with a human volunteer and a manikin where each wore three different commercial head gears (Full 90, Head Blast, and Kangaroo Soccer Head Gear) and experienced impact with another head, the rear of the head, and a soccer ball traveling at speeds of 6-30 m/s. All variables such as ball selection, test conditions, velocity and distance of the ball, and linear and angular head accelerations were accounted for during the trials. The results indicated that for ball impacts, the head gear provides almost no protection; however, for head to head impacts it actually benefited the player to wear the helmet.
Modern day sports are constantly changing due to scientific and technological developments. For example, in the 50’s hockey players didn’t even used to wear helmets because it wasn’t believed helmets served any protective purposes. Who knows, if the concussion rate among soccer players (or should I say footballers) increases within the next few years every player might have to sport that goofy looking black head gear during every game. Before any conclusions about the mandatory use of helmets are met, more research needs to be done regarding head injuries sustained by players around the world.
Women’s soccer has the fourth highest concussion rate, behind football, men’s hockey, and men’s lacrosse. I wonder what the difference between men’s and women’s soccer is that makes females more likely to be concussed. A third of female soccer players are concussed in their playing career, but the rate for males sits lower than one fifth. Do you have any insight into why females might concuss more easily despite playing the same sport?
Even as a former soccer player, I had no idea that these things existed until a few years ago. My cousin suffered a concussion while playing soccer, took a minor leave of absence, and upon his return, wore one of those special soccer helmets. Even thought he had it on, he suffered an additional concussion, and was medically forced to drop the sport. One question I have for you is why is it that women have a substantially higher risk of being concussed in soccer than men? Additionally, check out this website that sells helmets with sensors that alert coaches and trainers of the severity when a player has received a hit to the head. Note that this product is not a preventative measure but rather a safety precaution to avoid players staying in after head trauma.