By the inventor’s own admission, TopSpin 360 is a goofy-looking gadget.
It attaches to a Rugby football helmet and has a small weight at the end of an arm that spins around as an athlete rotates their head — something like swinging a hula hoop around your hips.
But the training device, being tested by Western University’s football team, has the potential to become a breakthrough in reducing concussion injuries that are the curse of college and professional athletes.
The TopSpin 360 is the invention of Theodore Versteegh, a physiotherapist at the Fowler-Kennedy Sports Medicine Clinic at Western, who played for the Mustangs football team about 20 years ago.
“I have friends whom I played with back then who had their careers shortened and were affected by concussion,” said Versteegh, who’s earned his doctorate in physical therapy.
“The long-term effects can be devastating,” he said.
Versteegh is developing the device with business partner Jeff Fischer, a former Mustangs strength and conditioning coach who helped introduce ImPACT software, a concussion-assessment tool, to Canada.
Caused by blows to the head or violent hits to the upper body common in contact sports, concussions are brain injuries, the effects of which are usually temporary but can range from headaches and concentration troubles, to memory and balance problems.
Repeated concussions have been linked to dementia, memory loss and depression and have become a controversial issue in professional sports, and the focus of a recent Hollywood movie, Concussion, starring Will Smith as the pathologist who uncovered the truth about brain injuries in NFL players.
Essentially, the TopSpin 360 works as a strengthener to help the neck cushion concussion-causing blows.
Versteegh said the device trains the neck muscles to resist the sudden impact of blows that throw the head back in a whiplash motion, causing a concussion as the brain and brain stem rattle around.
“It’s like the shocks on a car. If they’re weak and you hit a bump, you bottom out,” he said. “If they’re strong, you can absorb a much bigger bump.”
As the TopSpin 360’s weight spins, the centripetal force increases, forcing the neck muscles to work harder. A digital device records the speed of the rotations.
Versteegh said he and Fischer got the brainstorm while sitting in a pub watching a video of NHL star Sidney Crosby taking a blindside hit in the 2011 Winter Classic game, which resulted in a concussion.
“As a physiotherapist, I noticed his head was flopping. If he had a stronger neck, he would have been able to absorb the hit,” he said,
The TopSpin 360 is used as long-term training in the pre-season. The player uses the device twice a week for about 10 minutes.
In 2014, a group of eight Mustangs trained with the device. None suffered a concussion during the regular football season. A control group whose members did not train, did suffer some concussions.
The team has bought nine of the TopSpin 360 devices.
For the last three years, head coach Greg Marshall says, the team’s players have worn helmets equipped with a small sensor that measures blows to the head.
Last month the school’s star quarterback, Will Finch, decided not to return for a fifth year to avoid the risk of more concussion injuries.
Marshall said the TopSpin 360 could provide important protection in the future.
“It’s something we take very seriously. We need to make our contact sports safer and we hope that this is something that will strengthen our players’ necks and help reduce concussions,” he said.
All players on the team will train with the device in the pre-season, and the team’s medical staff will carefully monitor any concussions during the 2016 season.
“Those who perform better on the device should be less prone to concussions,” said Versteegh.
Although the device is now being tested on football players, he said the TopSpin can be used in hockey or any other sports where concussions are a risk.
The device can also be used as a screening tool. Recording the velocity of the weight as it spins can identify players with weaker neck muscles who may be prone to concussions.
Versteegh said women’s soccer holds a special interest because female soccer players suffer more concussions than male soccer players, possibly because their neck muscles aren’t as strong.
He said the TopSpin 360 will sell for about $1,500 a unit and will at first be marketed in the Canadian university football market. The University of Waterloo has already expressed interest.
After that, it’s on to the big-time of the CFL, the NFL and other professional sports leagues.
Versteegh said the pro leagues have tried rule changes and equipment improvements to reduce concussions, but those efforts are “maxed out”
“There’s nothing in the market that the market can do for themselves to reduce concussion risk.”
Versteegh said the device won’t prevent all concussions, such as those when a hockey player slams into the rink boards, but it’ll help any injuries when the head is snapped around by contact with another player.
Compiled
for Information Purpose by :
Physiotherapy Jobs Portal
www.physiotherapyjobs.co.in
Physiotherapy Jobs Portal
www.physiotherapyjobs.co.in
No comments:
Post a Comment