Concussions are a type of brain injury that occurs when the head is struck hard enough that the brain smacks against the skull and is damaged. Such injuries can also happen when the body is shaken violently enough to cause the brain to move around in the skull, such as during whiplash.
As with most head injuries, concussions can have major consequences if they are severe or not treated early enough. Over the long term, some patients may develop a condition called post-concussion syndrome, which is characterized by dizziness, headaches and problems with memory and concentration.
Aside from car accidents, concussions are overwhelmingly common in sports such as football and boxing, which involve a degree of physicality. According to neuroscientist professor Alan Pearce, the risk of concussive injuries in such sports has been increased by the myth that helmets are capable of protecting the wearer from these injuries.
Speaking in a recent episode of the investigative series podcast Head Noise, Pearce stated that helmets do not prevent players from sustaining concussions. Pearce told host James Graham that helmets weren’t designed to protect the brain from concussive forces. They are meant to protect the skull from lacerations and fractures, he said, but they do not have the ability to absorb all the force generated by an impact.
This means that while a helmet will prevent a wearer from sustaining broken or lacerated skull bones, it cannot prevent the brain from slamming against the inside of the skull. Given that brain tissue is delicate enough to squish through fingers, even the slightest movement can stretch the brain, placing brain cells under tension and causing them to tear against each other.
Furthermore, he explained that since the white matter and gray matter of the brain are of different densities, any impact actually causes the brain to move at two different speeds, resulting in even more strain and damage. Helmets aren’t capable of absorbing enough impact force to prevent concussions or even microdamage from occurring, Pearce said, be they hard-shell or soft-shell helmets.
In fact, helmets may actually increase the risk of concussion because they can give players a false sense of security and cause them to lower their guard, Pearce said. Furthermore, the presence of a helmet may make opposing players think they can play a little harder or sloppier because the other team is protected by helmets.
Generally, athletes wearing helmets are more likely to engage in riskier behavior than those without. When it comes to addressing the concussion crisis in sports such as the NFL, helmets are part of the problem not the solution.
At the moment, no drugs are specifically approved for concussion treatment. Companies such as Odyssey Health Inc. (OTC: ODYY) are focused on changing that through their clinical development programs, and if all goes according to plan, a remedy may soon be available to help concussion patients avoid experiencing complications that result from an untreated concussion.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to Odyssey Health Inc. (OTC: ODYY) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/ODYY
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