As soccer leagues hit the peak of their season around the country, something new is showing up on the field,
a foamy kind of new headgear (PDF) for kids.
The Detroit Free Press reported:
Although
medical professionals disagree about the effectiveness of soccer
headgear, most agree that soccer can be more dangerous than many
parents and players realize.
"It's
my feeling that the number-one stealth injury in all of sports is head
injury in soccer," said Dr. David Janda, director of the University of Michigan's Institute for Preventative Sports Medicine.
"It's
under people's radar screen. With many injuries, there's a cut, there's
blood coming out. You say 'Oh, injury.' You don't get that with a
concussion."
The American Academy of Pediatrics lists soccer as a contact sport, along with football and hockey.
True,
soccer doesn't result in many broken bones. But soccer is responsible
for numerous concussions, which are closed-head injuries to the brain.
Doctors
estimate that 10 percent to 15 percent of all high school athletes
participating in contact sports will get concussions each year. The
rate may be higher among preteens, who often play aggressively but are
not yet as skilled and strong as their high school role models.
From
1990 to 1999, almost 22,000 people went to emergency rooms in this
country suffering from soccer-related concussions, according to a 2004
study in the Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine. Many more soccer players with concussions never saw a doctor.
The Free Press went on to raise questions about the wisdom of kids wearing the headgear:
In August, the British Journal of Sports Medicine published a five-article package on soccer head injuries.
One of the studies reported on in the journal was funded by soccer's international governing body, the Zurich, Switzerland-based Federationonale de Football Association.
In it, some Canadian
researchers conclude that soccer headgear is not effective in reducing
the relatively mild impact of heading the ball, but that it does reduce
harder impacts, such as from crashing your head into the ground or a
goalpost or another player, by one-third.
Still, many doctors aren't convinced that the headgear, which sells for $20 to $30, is a good investment.
Kenneth Podell, director of Henry Ford Hospital's
Sports Concussion Safety Program and the Red Wings' neuropsychological
consultant, worries that the foam in the headgear will become
compressed and less protective over time.
He also wonders whether wearing the headgear will make some players more aggressive and prone to injury.
"Bottom line is: It can't hurt," he said, "though we need more study."
FIFA, the
international soccer organization, has allowed professional players to
wear headgear since 2003 if, in referees' opinions, it does not pose a
danger to other players or interfere with the game.
About a dozen professional players, mainly in the United States and Canada, are now using the headgear, including U.S. women's national team member Shannon MacMillan.
Watching Wilma
It could be a full hurricane in a day or two.
Watch out in the Gulf. Here's the National Weather Service's National Hurricane Center site. FEMA might want to start driving those ice trucks around the country again.
Local Red Cross Hurting
The Salinas Californian
raises a story that could have legs nationwide. While money has poured
into local Red Cross chapters for the Katrina relief fund, these
chapters have received only a fraction of the donations they usually
need for local disasters. I have seen similar stories in Utah, for example. The Herald Journal in Logan, Utah, said:
Roxana
King, executive director of the Cache County Chapter of the American
Red Cross, said disasters clearly play a role in the monies donated to
her organization, which relies almost completely on local gifts.
"Any
time we have a specific disaster for which monies are being passed
through our local chapter, we have a drop in local donations," King
said. "Donors who would normally donate to the local chapter may choose
to donate to that disaster."
Donations
coming through the Red Cross are earmarked for specific relief funds,
then sent directly to that relief fund -- none of that money is taken in
for imminent local disasters.
Food Banks Depleted
At the same time, food banks across the country say they are in desperate need of supplies, with winter coming on. From Connecticut to Missouri to California,
I have seen stories about food banks that sent lots of supplies to
Katrina victims and now are staring at nearly empty shelves.
Protein: The New Diet Hero
New evidence released this week
says people who eat high-protein meals feel more satisfied and are less
hungry -- so they can eat fewer calories and lose weight. No doubt
next week another study will come out explaining why that is all wrong.
We are always looking for your great ideas. Send Al a few sentences and hot links.
Editor's
Note: Al's Morning Meeting is a compendium of ideas, edited story
excerpts and other materials from a variety of Web sites, as well as
original concepts and analysis. When the information comes directly
from another source, it will be attributed and a link will be provided
whenever possible.
The Daily Press (Ashland, WI) did a story on the...
