The Premier Integrative Applied Neurology and Therapeutic Laser Center of Arizona

How New Helmet Technology Will Make the NFL and NHL Safer

BleacherReport.com features:

Concussions remain a serious issue in sports, and with the recent White House concussion summit, the discussion has been raised a notch.

For the NFL and football at other levels, as well as other collision sports like hockey, the problem is existential. Youth football saw a significant decrease in participation, largely due to the perception of concussion issues. While concussions can never be prevented, they can be reduced.

While efforts like Heads Up Football are attempts to change the culture from the lowest levels up, those changes will take a generation to have an impact. Technological solutions, like new helmets and protective gear, have a chance to make changes quickly and progressively. Doing both could lead to a significant reduction, but the NFL hasn’t done much in the way of encouraging the technological changes in the past. New initiatives that the NFL has recently set up should help, but it will be years before those results make it to the field.

Luckily, some companies are doing it anyway. Riddell has long been a leader in the field, with its helmets remaining the most worn brand in the NFL for the past two decades. Riddell is introducing its newest helmet, called the SpeedFlex, this season. The helmet was tested in several locations, including some at the collegiate level, this spring, and the company expects to be unable to meet demand this fall.

Thad Ide, the senior vice president for research at Riddell, told me that with all the changes in the new SpeedFlex, “it still has to pass the mirror test.” Early users liked the look and the feel, he explained, with just enough noticeable differences to give it a cool factor. “We love it when someone says the helmet looks like something out of a Batman movie,” he said.

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Janine Crifasi, DC, CCST

Dr. Janine Crifasi, our newest team member at AZ Chiropractic Neurology, is originally from New York – which explains the accent. She attended Life Chiropractic College West and was the Centennial class’s Most Outstanding Graduate. She practiced in the Bay Area until moving closer to family to raise her son who is attending college.

Dr. Janine is committed to learning and educating people to change their awareness about their bodies’ potential and empowering them with unique methods of retraining their brains to maximize their quality of life through neuroplasticity. Her passion to help others puts her patients at ease and makes her a highly sought-after community speaker. Prior to coming to Chandler, she owned a center specializing in kids with learning disabilities and served as the northeast clinical director of a functional neurology practice, overseeing several functional neurology clinics. 

She has completed her post-doctoral clinical neuroscience studies in Functional Neurology through the Carrick Institute for Graduate Studies and has successfully completed the clinical exam and is now board eligible for the written portion. She is a Board Certified Doctor of Chiropractic for over 26 years. She has received additional extensive training in Spinal Trauma, and the Activator Method, and has a certification in Postural Neurology. 

In an effort to better serve her patients, Dr. Crifasi completed postdoctoral specialty training in blood chemistry, thyroid chemistry, brain chemistry, neuro-immune, and neuro-endocrine functional medicine. This knowledge of the brain-gut axis, and the mechanisms that impact our health, allow her to provide patients with easily implemented modifications enhancing improved lifestyle and nutraceutical recommendations as needed.