Shoulder injuries

Discussion in 'On The Field' started by MajesticII, Dec 21, 2019.

  1. MajesticII

    MajesticII 1,000+ Posts

    You see more and more due to not being able to hit with your facemask.....Also the pads keep getting lighter and smaller. If they are going to force players to use their shoulders and avoid helmet contact, they need to start making the shoulder pads larger like they used to be, to absorb the impacts. It would also prevent or reduce the shoulder injuries due to ground impact as well.
     
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  2. horninchicago

    horninchicago 10,000+ Posts

    Why can't they use the facemask?
     
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  3. MajesticII

    MajesticII 1,000+ Posts

    You CAN but.....Targeting.....You have to avoid using the head all together , or risk the targeting call.
     
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  4. horninchicago

    horninchicago 10,000+ Posts

    I hear ya but facemask is easily discernible from crown of the helmet. It's piss poor technique not to go across the bow or facemask in the numbers. That is why the inordinate amount of shoulder injuries. Trying for a Sportscenter highlight. I doubt these guys are risking shoulder injury vs a targeting penalty but that's just me.
     
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    Last edited: Dec 22, 2019
  5. Austin_Bill

    Austin_Bill 2,500+ Posts

    The targeting thing is difficult for a taller player. They almost have to lead with their chest to avoid helmet to helmet contact. It's a big reason for a lot of shoulder injuries. This is a big reason I'd really emphasize shoulder work over things like bench press, it's become more of a need to have stronger shoulders in today's game.
     
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  6. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    I think that helmet technology is a huge part of the problem. Not that players should be leading with their helmets. They shouldn’t. But if the helmet was more protective — and there are many ways to define protective — we would see many less concussion issues.

    Think about this. Why does the helmet have a hard shell like a motorcycle helmet? Makes no sense and that hard surface has been the cause of many QB hand injuries.

    I could go in and on. In fact, I did a patent search last year...
     
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  7. Austin_Bill

    Austin_Bill 2,500+ Posts

    I'm pretty sure helmet technology is about as good as it gets right now. If we could come up with a way to stop inertia I'm sure that would help with the head injuries.

    My opinion is we need to do away with face masks, do that and guys would stop leading with their heads. Might even be better to go back to soft helmets like they use in Rugby. I don't know the issues with head injuries in that sport, but I know they don't lead with their faces when trying to make a tackle.
     
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  8. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    Bill, just for grins, imagine if players wore an inflated beachball around their heads, sort of like that game in which players roll around inside huge inflated clear balls and bounce off each other. I believe there is a way to adapt that technology to a helmet.

    Other issues that can be addressed:

    The surface is hard. It doesn’t need to be. For example, vehicle dashboards are cushioned, not hard, for a reason.

    Sound. Seems crazy? At impact, the more noise the brain is exposed to, the more negative the impact. What if impacts generated almost no noise? Less shock
    to the brain.

    The NFL & NCAA, high schools, etc., could do much better IMO.
     
  9. RainH2burntO

    RainH2burntO 2,500+ Posts

    Lol
    Just .. lol
    I want to see the beach ball thing.
     
  10. dukesteer

    dukesteer 5,000+ Posts

    I’ve been in the Plastics Industry for 42 years. There is a way. I’ll leave it at that...
     
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  11. Mr. Fiesta

    Mr. Fiesta 1,000+ Posts

    [​IMG]
     
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  12. MajesticII

    MajesticII 1,000+ Posts

    Round hard helmet allows for the helmet to slide off...and reduce neck injuries ...
     
  13. Son of a Son

    Son of a Son 1,000+ Posts

    Planting the facemask in the opponent's numbers and wrapping up is a textbook tackle. Any time I see a ref call this targeting I throw **** at my TV because the crown of the helmet brushes the chin-protecting part of the opponent's facemask. It's this and the fact that the Sportscenter Top 10 exists that has ruined tackling.
     
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  14. Austin_Bill

    Austin_Bill 2,500+ Posts

    Agree 100%, however because what generally happens is the top of the helmet generally goes up into the chin of the ball carrier, refs are calling this targeting, which it's not. I'm with you on this.
     
  15. Statalyzer

    Statalyzer 10,000+ Posts

    It might work (players hardly ever lead with the head in rugby, partially because of the lack of head protection but also because that's part of the rugby culture and coaching), but there are downsides too.

    You still could dive/launch forward leading with the head and ram the thickest part of your own skull into someone's face or the side of their head, likely causing serious injury to them while remaining unscathed. I fractured my skull this way once in a pickup game of tackle football (the moron who caused the injury was on my team too). Again, the majority of rugby players won't do this, but it's still a risk.

    Or the random nature of piles of bodies flying could still result in heads smashing together. This sort of collision killed a woman on the UT rugby club team a few years ago. Had she had a football helmet on she'd have likely been fine.
     

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