Helmet the right fit for GriffithsHerald-Sun
April 1, 2016RICHMOND big man Ben Griffiths is expected to wear a helmet again against Collingwood to help protect himself from another concussion injury.
Griffiths, 24, wore the helmet for the first time in the narrow win over Carlton last week, believing he feels more comfortable with it on after suffering a head knock in the preseason.
The Herald Sun understands he planned to keep it on against the Pies at the MCG but was unsure whether it will stay in the long term.
The key forward missed two preseason games after suffering a bout of concussion, along with goalkicking teammate Ty Vickery, in Richmond’s first NAB Challenge game against Fremantle.
He joins Western Bulldogs’ Caleb Daniel as the only two current players to wear a helmet.
Former AFL club doctor Rohan White was at St Kilda when he encouraged Nathan Burke to wear a helmet after a series of significant head knocks.
Dr White said he advocated the use of helmets as something that could help lessen the impact of minor head knocks or glancing blows.
But he said they were unable to prevent concussions in the case of severe blows or heavy falls.
“I think they (helmets) work in certain circumstances,” White said.
“The official view of the AFL Doctors’ Association is that helmets will not stop a concussion if it is going to happen.
“If you are belted hard enough in the head, a helmet won’t necessarily assist you.
“The brain has a jelly-like consistency and when it smashes up against the front or back wall of your cranium, that’s what gives you the concussion injury.
“Where helmets are good is that they can help lessen the impact and the discomfort and pain of minor head knocks or glancing blows.
“Jimmy Bartel came off on Monday after copping a knee to the head from ‘Hodgey’ (Luke Hodge), and that’s probably one example where a helmet probably would have lessened the pain and discomfort for him in that situation.
“And they also help prevent lacerations and abrasions.”
Some experts believe helmets disadvantage players as they increase the surface area of their head, effectively making the target bigger.
The aesthetics of helmets has also been debated, with some claiming they can make players look less athletic.
But White said he believed Burke’s helmet assisted him throughout the five seasons he wore one towards the latter stages of his stellar 323-game career at St Kilda.
“He definitely thought it was helpful for him, but whether it reduced his number of significant head knocks is hard to determine,” he said.
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