Football Concussions Caused By Technology.
I understand that this is a topic that has many opinions and debates surrounding it. I also understand that not all concusions are avoidable, such as those caused by ground forces. With that being stated, lets take a look at those that can be avoided. In my opinion any effort to reduce the effects on consucions by advancing technology will only result in more concusions and is a complete waste of time. The case is simple, a concussion is caused when the head absorbs a force great enough to cause the skull to essentially slam into the brain itself. The initial impact will typically cause the brain to then bouce to the opposite side of the head, resulting in impact on both sides. The image provided below is a great image that was borrowed from medicinenet.com (click to see link).
The primary reason the concussion rate will continue to climb in football is technology. Technology has enabled football players the ability to deliver extremly hard hits under the false belief that they are protected. Take for example the wide receiver that is cutting aross the middle of the field and gets leveled by the linebacker. Do you really think that the linebacker would have delivered the same devistating blow if there was even the slightest possibility he would feel the hit equally as bad. Of course not. He would have taken a come conservative approach to making the tackle resulting in a reduction of impact forces.
We need to stop acting like technology is the answer. If we are going to reduce the concussion rate and impact of head injuries we need to reduce technological advancements in football. Sure the hard devistating hits look cool, but you are not the one who felt it. If you are the person who has felt it, you know it was not cool.
