Let's Spring Into Action And Protect Athletes

The Ralph Cornwell Files

Let's Spring Into Action And Protect Athletes                                              
Ralph Cornwell is a Ph.D. candidate in health promotion/human performance at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Prior to pursuing his Doctoral Degree he was a collegiate strength coach.

Research from the best minds in the automotive safety industry  all agree, the circumference of the neck changes the way it reacts to forces applied to that area.
The former Congressional appointed Chairman of the Head  and Neck Committee put together a study on concussions and found: " Stronger necks reduce head acceleration, deltaV, and displacement. Even relatively small reductions in deltaV have a large effect on head injury criterion that may reduce concussion risks because changes in deltaV change head injury criterion through the 4th power."
Test dummies are used to simulate a human in a collision whether it is by automobile or playing sports.


How do they simulate neck strength in humans?

They change the size of the spring on the test dummies. Small to replicate a child’s neck circumference.  Medium size for female adults and large for adult males.

To simulate an athlete’s neck you have to go one step further.  The athlete’s neck is simulated by the largest and most stiff spring on a crash dummy in order to replicate the kinematics of a collision accurately.


The replicated athletic neck is more resistant to change than the mock-up normal population neck.  It  deforms less then all the simulated necks.


This is true for crash test dummies; is it not true for athletes playing sports that include collisions?
By increasing the circumference of our athlete’s necks the same result should occur. Less deformation of the cervical spine.

If this is good for test dummies, it should be good for America’s athletes risking concussion during sports. It will certainly lowers the subconcussive forces.
 
Congress calls concussions an 'American Epidemic'. Let’s start inoculating our athletes with larger stronger necks.www.concussionpreventionprotocol.com

Get The Knowledge! Protect your Athlete!

YOU AS A Coach, Athletic Trainer, Strength Coach, Military Trainer, 


Physical Therapist, Parent Need To Have The Knowledge To Protect Your Athlete.

Strengthening of the head, neck and surrounding cervical structures  is
the ONLY organic contingency within our control to prepare individuals to
withstand potentially injurious forces. The only one!

The Concussion Rate in this Country continues to increase each Year!   The reactive approach simply DOES NOT WORK.  WE Must be Proactive. Through Evidence Based Research we Know We can Prepare our Athletes for the Rigors of Their Sport. 

THERE IS SIMPLY NO GOOD
REASON FOR NOT TRAINING THE MUSCLES SURROUNDING THE CERVICAL
SPINE. PERIOD!

Before you can Protect Your Athlete YOU need the skills to do so. You need to be Certified to train the musculature of the Head and Neck.

Through Concussion Prevention Protocol. com you can become a CERTIFIED HEAD AND NECK TRAINING SPECIALIST.  The Only certification that gives you the skill set to safely train the musculature of the head and neck. Go to www.coachaprotraining.com or concussionpreventionprotocol.com to find out more about becoming a Certified Head and Neck Training Specialist.