Helmets are an essential part of football. It stands to reason that players would not be able to play this sport safely were it not for the helmet. The amount and intensity of physical contact that occurs during football poses a large risk for injury, of which head injuries are among some of the most feared. While football helmets can't completely eliminate the potential for injury, they greatly reduce the severity of the impact players must often endure.
History
The football helmet has come a long way since its invention more than 100 years ago. Helmets were originally called "head harnesses" and were made from soft leather. They functioned primarily as protection for the ears and not the head. Not until 1915 were the first helmets designed to protect the skull introduced. These newer versions also featured holes in the ear flaps to make communication easier. Over the years, more and more padding and harder leather was used to manufacture football helmets until in 1939, the Riddell Company made the first plastic helmet. This model paved the way for the modern football helmet.
Function
The primary role of a football helmet is to protect the head of a player. The inside of a helmet is lined with dense padding to help absorb the shock from impact when a player is hit. Every helmet has a chin strap that must be fastened during play. The strap fastens the helmet around the head and keeps it from dislodging during impact. Each helmet is also outfitted with a face mask that protects the player's face. Face masks consist of criss-crossing bars that can take on various patterns. A quarterback, for instance, typically wears a helmet with a limited amount of face-mask bars to optimize his vision, while a center may opt for a helmet with extra bars on his face mask for more protection.
Effectiveness
Scientific research offers indisputable evidence that football helmets significantly reduce the amount of head injuries and fatalities in football. A research team from the Division of Neurosurgery at the University of California, San Diego, found that the material and design that goes into a football helmet, combined with stringent head-injury guidelines and rules during play, are key factors in reducing injuries. Since the invention of the football helmet, the various improvements to it have reduced fatalities by 74 percent and serious head injuries from 4.25 per 100,000 players to 0.68 per 100,000 players, according to the University of California, San Diego research.
Concussions
Despite the many advances in football helmet designs, concussions have plagued football for years and were addressed in a congressional hearing in 2010. Today's game features stronger and bigger football players who are able to cause concussions through their powerful hits. Helmet-to-helmet impact can leave the brain rattling inside the skull and lead to a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE. The latest in football helmet technology, however, is trying to help alleviate some of the trauma the brain undergoes during impact through the use air cells. Instead of dense padding, newer helmet designs rely on air cell shock absorption, which vents air to dissipate energy, thereby minimizing head movement.
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