EPS Foam and Brain Injury: Protecting Players and Athletes

Learn about the importance of helmets in preventing brain injuries and how EPS foam plays a crucial role in their protective design. Discover how EPS foam enhances helmet safety by absorbing impact energy and reducing the risk of life-threatening injuries.

Brain Injury Awareness

 

EPS Foam Keeps Your Brain in the Game

The most complex part of our human anatomy is the brain. The amount of information it stores we often take for granted. “Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a complex injury with a broad spectrum of symptoms and disabilities.1” This type of injury is undoubtedly one of the most life-changing there is, for both the injured and their loved ones. Irreparable damage can occur in an instant and leave behind dramatic consequences to life as we know it. Our brain controls our speech, motor skills, thoughts and personality. Being such a source of life, why would we ever choose not to protect it?

March is Brain Injury Awareness Month and we would like to take a moment to reflect on the importance of wearing a helmet. In the case of head injuries, helmets are the key factor between life and death. And nestled between the outer core of these lifesaving instruments is EPS foam.

 

Why EPS foam?

Expanded Polystyrene (EPS) is a rigid, lightweight, closed-cell foam. Besides its use in packaging projects and as Geofoam in geotechnical applications, EPS also has the versatility, durability and effectiveness to fit into bike and motorcycle helmets, car seats, etc. “EPS foam’s superior ability to absorb impact energy and its extreme light weight make it the best material for use in bicycle helmets and an excellent choice for protective safety devices such as child car seats and sports pads…EPS foam used in safety devices converts, channels and dissipates crash energy, thus preventing the energy from reaching the brain or body.2” Rather than soft or rubbery padding that redelivers the impact energy when it bounces back, EPS foam provides superior protection by absorbing and dissipating most of the energy caused by the impact. Just as engineers rely on EPS to protect pipelines from the effects of earthquakes, we can trust EPS to help reduce the impact on the body in an accident.

 

Helmet Use Statistics

Motorcycle
Wearing a helmet when riding a bike or motorcycle is a simple life-saving measure to lessen the likelihood of Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) or death.

While there are many different causes for brain injuries, many deaths could be prevented among bicyclists and motorcyclists if a helmet was worn. Most of these deaths occur because of serious head injuries, so wearing a helmet is an extremely important protective measure. For bicycle accidents, “Helmet use has been estimated to reduce the odds of head injury by 50 percent, and the odds of head, face, or neck injury by 33 percent.3” For motorcycle accidents, “Helmets are about 37 percent effective in preventing motorcycle deaths and about 67 percent effective in preventing brain injuries.4

Wear a helmet. It’s a simple solution to a very significant problem. Please use your head and choose to protect it.

For more information on TBI and Brain Injury Awareness, please visit the following:

[list type=”dot”]
[list_item]www.traumaticbraininjury.com/[/list_item]
[list_item]www.biausa.org/brain-injury-awareness-month.htm[/list_item]
[/list]

 

Sources:

  1. www.traumaticbraininjury.com
  2. www.epsindustry.org/other-applications/safety-devices
  3. www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/pedestrians-and-bicyclists/fatalityfacts/bicycles/2015
  4. www.iihs.org/iihs/topics/t/motorcycles/fatalityfacts/motorcycles

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This article was posted on March 22, 2017, by Insulation Corporation of America (ICA) – a Women-Owned manufacturer of Geofoam and Expanded Polystyrene (EPS), which is commonly but mistakenly referred to as Styrofoam™. ICA is located in Allentown, PA and services the entire Mid-Atlantic Region from Virginia to Maine to Ohio.

 

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