SPOKANE, Wash. — High school football coaches across the region are increasingly turning to Guardian Caps, padded helmet covers that promise to reduce head impacts, even as new research questions their effectiveness in preventing concussions.
The soft, approximately inch-thick covers clip onto traditional football helmets and have become a common sight on practice fields and in games. At West Valley High School, players are required to wear them during practice, though they can opt out if they. The school says so far none have.
Craig Whitney, head football coach at West Valley High, adopted the Guardian Caps after learning about their potential to improve player safety.
“I think if we could save one kid in practice, or in a game, it’s well worth it,” Whitney said.
The trend extends beyond West Valley. Lakeside High School has used Guardian Caps for several years, and Spokane Public Schools offers them as an option for students whose parents sign a waiver.
However, recent research challenges assumptions about the caps’ effectiveness. Dr. Erin Hammer, a sports medicine doctor at the University of Wisconsin, led a study involving more than 2,600 high school football players to examine Guardian Caps’ impact on concussion rates.
“What we found was that there was no difference in the risk of sustaining a concussion, whether or not you were wearing the guardian cap”, Hammer said.
The study results haven’t deterred Hammer from continuing her research. She’s now investigating whether Guardian Caps might reduce concussion symptoms such as headaches and dizziness, even if they don’t prevent the injuries entirely.
“I would just caution parents, athletes, sport administrators from making decisions based on whether or not their athletes are using Guardian Caps,” she said.
The manufacturer of Guardian Caps doesn’t claim the product prevents concussions. Instead, the company markets them as devices that can reduce the impact of hits and should be used as part of a comprehensive safety strategy.
For coaches like Whitney, the possibility of any benefit justifies continued use.
“There’s people out there who are pro Guardian Cap. Some say they don’t work. If there’s a chance that they work, we’re going to use them,” Whitney said.
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