For what reason?

[Ziplock]

Sorry this might sound a little soft but

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/137986/default.aspx

as highlighted there there are potential long term detrimental side affects as a result of concussions. It's been bugging me for a bit- why doesn't AFL have regulation protective gear like NFL?

like, I understand that afl is all about speed jumping height etc., but regulatory protective gear would create a level playing field anyway, and would protect the players (hence the purpose) from a lot of potentially harmful injuries.

like, nowadays even basic headgear generally isn't worn because players that don it get scorned.

thoughts?

[Spite]

I often wonder why they just dont wear helmets. Not something overly big, light weight, just something to lessen the impact to the head, might make the world of difference to someone.

[elephants]

Just wrote a massive reply but of course my showerty phone died as I was about to post it ::)

[Spite]

Just wrote a massive reply but of course my showerty phone died as I was about to post it ::)

Describe in 5 words or less... yay or nay helmet?

[elephants]

Just wrote a massive reply but of course my showerty phone died as I was about to post it ::)

Describe in 5 words or less... yay or nay helmet?

Yay. The AFL should do something but the concussion prone players need to look after themselves. Logan, Selwood and Adams... Ooops, more than 5 words :P

[Zig n Zag]

Doesn't even need to be a bulky helmet.

[valkorum]

I often wonder why they just dont wear helmets. Not something overly big, light weight, just something to lessen the impact to the head, might make the world of difference to someone.

The problem with helmets is that they actually dont stop the brain bruising/damage you get from a concussion.  A helmet only helps against the skull cracking/fracturing/breaking.  The brain still "bounces" around inside the skull - this is what causes the damage or concussion.

Hence why you must wear a helmet when riding a pushbike or motorbike - to prevent against skull damage.

The other issue is what you get in the NFL in that players are even more fearless once they have a helmet on and go in even harder - which is just adding to the problem.

[Ziplock]

it depends. Soft helmets would absorb the impact and lessen the bouncing.

[valkorum]

it depends. Soft helmets would absorb the impact and lessen the bouncing.

No scientific proof of this.  It doesnt matter what you put on the OUTSIDE of your head the gap between your brain and skull on the INSIDE of your head is still the same.

[Master Q]

No no to NFL and Cricket like helmets, but I wouldn't mind the soft ones (Like Peter Cech, posted above). I'm pretty sure those ones are compulsory at junior level until U12s or something.

It's up to the individual IMO.

[Ringo]

Remember Shaun Hart made the helmet part of his kit.  No reason why others can not follow suit.

[Ziplock]

it depends. Soft helmets would absorb the impact and lessen the bouncing.

No scientific proof of this.  It doesnt matter what you put on the OUTSIDE of your head the gap between your brain and skull on the INSIDE of your head is still the same.

the impact is what moves the brain around right? like it's the sudden jolt?

then that jolt can be lessened with soft helmets- in essence the same principle that's applied to cars and crumple zones- that extra time it takes for the head to deaccelerate will lessen the impact of the brain on the skull.

you can't scientifically test it, because that would involve hitting people over the head really hard...

[pyronerd]

it depends. Soft helmets would absorb the impact and lessen the bouncing.

No scientific proof of this.  It doesnt matter what you put on the OUTSIDE of your head the gap between your brain and skull on the INSIDE of your head is still the same.

the impact is what moves the brain around right? like it's the sudden jolt?

then that jolt can be lessened with soft helmets- in essence the same principle that's applied to cars and crumple zones- that extra time it takes for the head to deaccelerate will lessen the impact of the brain on the skull.

you can't scientifically test it, because that would involve hitting people over the head really hard...

A soft helmet won't make much difference unless it is reasonably thick, otherwise the effect will be negligible

[Ziplock]

yeah, so a thick, soft helmet :P

and anything is better than nothing. It could make a more substantial difference than you realise- for instance, your head will have the force absorbed by  the ground  in like 0.05 of a second (yes that's a rough guestimate :P ), a reasonably thick helmet could take like 0.1 seconds to absorb the force, which would increase proportionally the time the brain takes to slow down substantially.

I dunno if I've explained that well or not... I'm normally good with concepts, but not terminology for physics (hence why I could struggle for my final :P )

those are reasonable estimates I believe btw (I'm just basing this off the fact a basketball is in contact for 0.1 of a second while bouncing ftr :P )

[BB67th]

yeah, so a thick, soft helmet :P

and anything is better than nothing. It could make a more substantial difference than you realise- for instance, your head will have the force absorbed by  the ground  in like 0.05 of a second (yes that's a rough guestimate :P ), a reasonably thick helmet could take like 0.1 seconds to absorb the force, which would increase proportionally the time the brain takes to slow down substantially.

I dunno if I've explained that well or not... I'm normally good with concepts, but not terminology for physics (hence why I could struggle for my final :P )

those are reasonable estimates I believe btw (I'm just basing this off the fact a basketball is in contact for 0.1 of a second while bouncing ftr :P )

While I am not too sure on the sciences here, I agree that anything is better than nothing, especially when wearing helmets puts no real impact on how the game is played.