Who would have known that one little piece of equipment can change lives? If you could prevent traumas would you? Helmets could prevent traumas, including brain injuries or life altering tragedies. Every step onto any field, gym, skate park, or mountain resort without a helmet could potentially be life altering. “In 2012, 12% of all ER visits (163,670) involved a concussion, the equivalent of one every three minutes. Nearly half (47%) were in kids ages 12 to 15,” stated by USA Today. These statistics support the importance of protective head gear even for our youth, whose brains are still developing. Without helmets, there is an increased chance of developing concussions and life-altering, debilitating brain trauma including CTE, Chronic
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A former N.F.L, National Football League, player, Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. He was diagnosed the CTE, due to repeated head trauma. According to The New York Times, “researchers at Boston University, pioneers in this field, have found CTE in 33 of the 34 brains of former N.F.L. players they have examined.” CTE can effectively change one’s life while it gets worse throughout the years. Part of what causes chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a buildup of tau in the brain. Tau helps to stabilize and support certain structures in the brain, including the cell’s internal transportation system. Repeated head injury can cause tau to fold and change shape. Protectthebrain.org stated, “Some of the most common symptoms include loss of memory, impaired judgment, behavioral disturbances including aggression and depression, difficulty with balance, and a gradual onset of dementia.” CTE may have life-changing effects. Although one simple piece of equipment can drastically decrease the chances of harming your brain, there are some who strongly oppose this. On the other hand, those who argue that more sports do not need head protection site issues of practicality, comfort, creating a false sense of security and impeding of agility. Still, others do not see the risk or correlation of head injury and long-term consequences. Some even feel hard helmets provide athletes, especially adolescent males, a false sense of security as many use a protective item as a weapon. Often these young males may not feel helmets are cool. Just watch programs like ESPN’s X Games; not many of these skaters are wearing
A former N.F.L, National Football League, player, Junior Seau had a degenerative brain disease linked to repeated head trauma. He was diagnosed the CTE, due to repeated head trauma. According to The New York Times, “researchers at Boston University, pioneers in this field, have found CTE in 33 of the 34 brains of former N.F.L. players they have examined.” CTE can effectively change one’s life while it gets worse throughout the years. Part of what causes chronic traumatic encephalopathy is a buildup of tau in the brain. Tau helps to stabilize and support certain structures in the brain, including the cell’s internal transportation system. Repeated head injury can cause tau to fold and change shape. Protectthebrain.org stated, “Some of the most common symptoms include loss of memory, impaired judgment, behavioral disturbances including aggression and depression, difficulty with balance, and a gradual onset of dementia.” CTE may have life-changing effects. Although one simple piece of equipment can drastically decrease the chances of harming your brain, there are some who strongly oppose this. On the other hand, those who argue that more sports do not need head protection site issues of practicality, comfort, creating a false sense of security and impeding of agility. Still, others do not see the risk or correlation of head injury and long-term consequences. Some even feel hard helmets provide athletes, especially adolescent males, a false sense of security as many use a protective item as a weapon. Often these young males may not feel helmets are cool. Just watch programs like ESPN’s X Games; not many of these skaters are wearing