Schools and sports clubs are being called on to lead the way by introducing brain protection for all players of contact sports into children’s regular sport kit.
The risk of brain injury in contact sports has been headline news in recent weeks; more than 180 former rugby players launched a case against the sport governing bodies claiming negligence; the Welsh Rugby Union has issued a warning to members regarding the risk of brain damage; and many former sports players, including Gary Lineker, have talked about cognitive impairment in their 40s and 50s.
At the same time, a Tedx talk by Dr Emer MacSweeney of Re:Cognition Health, a consultant neuroradiologist and expert in cognitive impairment disorders, has been published* highlighting the risks to players of contact sports from multiple, sub-concussive impacts to the head which largely go unnoticed at the time but have a lasting impact on the structure of the brain. In her talk, Dr MacSweeney highlighted the generally unacknowledged risk to younger players. She said: “Studies found that children who started playing American football under the age of 12 grew up to have worse thinking and learning ability than their peers who started playing after their twelfth birthday. And this is not too surprising, as a critical and dynamic period of brain development occurs between the ages of 9 and 11.”
Dr MacSweeney called for brain protection from a young age in all contact sports, such as rugby, football, lacrosse and hocky, citing the Rezon Halos®** as the only CE marked product currently on the market which is proven to reduce the rotational forces to the brain from head impacts during play.
Rezon Halos®** was designed with input from global experts in neuroradiology, neuroscience, med-tech, player experiences, garment design, and body-protection manufacturing. It was subject to independent testing at US test house Virginia Tech*** receiving a 5 star rating. It was also tested at Sheffield Hallam for extreme head to ground testing. It is a British-made product, and available in sizes suitable for all ages of player, from the youngest to adult players.
Judith McMinn, founder and CEO of Rezon, commented: “Sport, especially grassroots and school level sport, is such a force for good. Currently, children and youth players are accustomed to protecting their teeth with mouthguards, or protecting their shins. Let’s make sure they now understand to protect their brains, given that the brain determines their performance on the pitch, and their performance in life.
“What is generally not understood is the effect of sub-concussions, not just concussions. Sub-concussions are more than 500 times more likely in training and in matches. It’s key that schools, clubs, coaches, parents and those with a duty of care understand the risk of brain injury and understand what makes effective brain protection. Rezon Halos provides essential protection for the brain and can be used from when children first start participating in contact sports.”
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Halos® was launched in November 2021. For more information about Halos® see https://www.rezonwear.com/
For more information on Rezon and Halos visit the website https://www.rezonwear.com/ and find Rezon on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/rezonwear and on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/rezonwear/ .
*To see the Tedx video, follow this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=QXn-okL2rfs
**Halos® is intentionally designed to lessen the risk of brain injury due to it reducing the transmission of rotational forces to the brain in concussive and sub-concussive impacts. British designed Rotection® technology inside Halos® is made up of nine unique protective layers that allow for the movement and opposing movement of the layers to reduce the transmission of rotational forces by up to 61%.
Rotational forces cause the brain to rotate inside the skull, brain cells to shear, tiny blood vessels in the brain to be torn and the protective ‘blood brain’ barrier to be disrupted. This results in an abnormal and harmful uncontrolled inflammation which damages the brain and increases the risk of longer-term neurodegenerative consequences, including Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that leads to dementia and related physical and cognitive symptoms such as memory problems, a decline in thinking ability, confusion, aggression, depression and changes in personality.
***Virginia Tech provide ratings that allow consumers to make informed decisions when purchasing protective headgear on products that reduce concussion risk. The ratings and test results are based on more than ten years of research on head impacts in sports and are independent of any influence from manufacturers
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Member-created content 1 year ago | From members