Could this serious head injury have been prevented with the proper gear?

[robbjbyoung 20]

It's interesting how Ice Hockey lines up with other sports with regards to impacts that can be experienced under "normal play" conditions. A similar story in Cricket, that of Phil Hughes who died in an incident of neck impact from a rising "bouncer", did damage very similar to that suggested as a possible cause by our sports MD linked above. From what I can see, this as another freak accident did not change the way cricket equipment was manufactured, though I'm sure there was much concern at the time for players' safety from their immediate families, loved ones and those involved in the sport.

Accidents happen in all sports, and they always bring about similar questions to these we're having here (when not attempting to dunk on one another in a display of internet prowess).

[stick9 890]

Dude, you realize you are asking companies to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars to develop a helmet to potentially protect against something that's litterly happened twice. I would wager, neck and spinel injuries are much higher on their list.

Edited March 24, 2021 by stick9

[shoot_the_goalie 281]

Damn.  Sorry guys.  I wouldn't have posted that video if I knew it was going to create a new firestorm.

I posted it just to give more info on the incident.

IMHO, that video is not one sided, and information should not be cherry picked out of it to support one's argument.

If anything, that entire video says, it's great if we can improve helmet safety, but we can't protect everyone from everything, and that there is an assumed risk in playing sports like hockey.

[marka 526]

Howdy,

Just now, shoot_the_goalie said:

Damn.  Sorry guys.  I wouldn't have posted that video if I knew it was going to create a new firestorm.

I posted it just to give more info on the incident.

IMHO, that video is not one sided, and information should not be cherry picked out of it to support one's argument.

If anything, that entire video says, it's great if we can improve helmet safety, but we can't protect everyone from everything, and that there is an assumed risk in playing sports like hockey.

One thing I found interesting in that video was that the guy said at one point something to the effect of "we can't have football helmets in hockey".

Made me wonder why not.  Will the football players laugh at us?  Are we afraid of being as popular as football?

🙂

Mark

[krisdrum 233]

9 minutes ago, marka said:

Howdy,

One thing I found interesting in that video was that the guy said at one point something to the effect of "we can't have football helmets in hockey".

Made me wonder why not.  Will the football players laugh at us?  Are we afraid of being as popular as football?

🙂

Mark

Not sure we want to adopt the head protection of a sport who is in the midst of a MAJOR participation crisis due to head and neck injuries.  😉  People are fleeing contact football in droves thanks to CTE and other related injuries.  I don't think we should be holding their helmet design and technology in too high a regard.  In fact I've heard plenty of arguments that the design of football helmets has encouraged more aggressive play and is a direct cause of the injuries being seen.  They have actually started to look at contact sports with minimal padding (rugby) for inspiration and education towards a better approach to tackling and body contact. 

[flip12 714]

50 minutes ago, marka said:

Howdy,

One thing I found interesting in that video was that the guy said at one point something to the effect of "we can't have football helmets in hockey".

Made me wonder why not.  Will the football players laugh at us?  Are we afraid of being as popular as football?

🙂

Mark

 

[Miller55 333]

[Vet88 674]

6 hours ago, Deker said:

Ok, agreed.  They are in it to stay in business.  They would design safer helmets if they knew there was a demand and I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person in the world who'd prefer a safer helmet for himself and/or his kids.  But if all they see are people like in this thread dismissing the incident as a fluke and that it would never happen to them, then of course it's going to take time, maybe a long time, or maybe never.  Just like after Bill Masterton died in 1968, similar people dismissed it as a freak accident and bullheadedly refused to wear helmets for over a decade.  What was the point of that?  Did they think wearing a helmet would make them cowards?

Regarding the question "is it worth the effort considering how prevalent serious injury is?"  This is not just "serious injury."  This is DEATH.  I can understand holding off on designing say new shin pads if the risk is just breaking bones.  But if there is a certain unprotected part of your head/neck that can KILL you if hit with a puck, then that is a different story and should be treated as such.

And here is what the doc also said - "1 in a 100 million chance" (along with a dozen other comments about risk, mitigation, freak accidents etc). Those are the odds you are asking manufacturers to spend money on, get real. Here's a guaranteed 100% chance of avoiding this accident - DON'T PLAY, go find something else to stand on a soap box and harp on about.

Or here's your answer, I've found something protective that covers the whole head and most of the body, as you said yourself, shins are just bones so who cares about those.