How to Protect Children’s Brains in School and Youth Sport
Children’s brains are more vulnerable to injury from head impacts in sport [1]. Many brain injuries in children occur without a diagnosed concussion and are caused by repeated sub-concussive impacts. Traditional headgear focuses on preventing visible injuries, not protecting the brain. The most effective way to reduce risk is to lower the transmission of rotational forces to the brain throughout training and play.
Why children are more vulnerable to brain injury in sport
Children are not simply smaller adults when it comes to brain injury risk.
A child’s brain:
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Is still developing structurally and metabolically
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Has higher water content and lower levels of myelination
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Is more susceptible to rotational forces during head impacts
This means that the same type of head impact can produce greater strain within a child’s brain than in an adult.
Crucially, it is not possible to predict:
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Which child may have a genetic or metabolic vulnerability
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Which child will continue playing sport into adulthood
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Which child may accumulate a high lifetime exposure to head impacts
Because the effects of sub-concussive impacts are cumulative, brain injury risk begins in childhood [2], even in the absence of diagnosed concussion.
What causes brain injury in school and youth sport?
Brain injury in children’s sport is driven primarily by rotational forces transmitted to the brain during head impacts.
These forces occur during:
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Tackles and collisions
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Falls and head-to-ground impacts
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Accidental stick or ball contact
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Contact with other players
Many of these impacts are sub-concussive. They do not cause immediate symptoms and do not stop play, but they still transmit damaging forces to the brain.
Over time, repeated exposure to these forces contributes to:
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Microscopic damage to brain tissue
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Disruption of the blood–brain barrier
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Neuro-inflammation
Neuro-inflammation is increasingly recognised as a pathway linking repeated head impacts to long-term neurological risk.
Why traditional headgear does not protect children’s brains
Protective equipment used in school sport has traditionally focused on preventing visible injuries, such as:
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Dental injury (mouthguards)
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Bone injury (shin pads, face masks)
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Cuts and abrasions (padded headgear)
This equipment does not protect the brain.
Most traditional padded headgear:
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Is designed to prevent surface injury
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Focuses on linear force reduction
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Has limited ability to reduce rotational acceleration, the primary driver of neuro-inflammation [3].
Because brain injury is driven primarily by rotational forces, padding alone is insufficient for brain protection.
This explains why children can experience headaches, fatigue, or cognitive symptoms even when wearing traditional protective equipment and without a diagnosed concussion.
Is “If in doubt, sit them out” enough for children?
The “If in doubt, sit them out” approach plays an important role in identifying symptomatic concussion.
However, it does not protect children from:
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Sub-concussive impacts
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Cumulative brain injury
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Impacts that produce no symptoms
Sub-concussions fall outside the scope of detection-based approaches. They cannot be recognised at the time they occur.
Effective protection therefore requires reducing the transmission of damaging forces in the first place, not just recognising injury after it may already have occurred.
How schools and parents can better protect children’s brain
Protecting children’s brains in sport requires a shift from reaction to prevention.
Effective strategies include:
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Recognising that sub-concussive impacts matter
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Reducing cumulative exposure during training and play
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Using protective equipment designed for brain protection, not surface injury
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Wearing protection consistently, not only after an injury
Brain protection is most effective when worn throughout participation, rather than being introduced only after a concussion has occurred.
The role of Rezon Halos® in youth sport brain protection
Rezon Halos® is a protective headband designed specifically to reduce rotational force transmission to the brain.
It is:
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CE / UKCA Category II PPE certified
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Independently tested using the Virginia Tech Helmet Lab methodology
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Proven under laboratory conditions to reduce rotational forces and concussion risk
Halos® can be worn across a wide range of school and youth sports, during training and competition as part of a broader brain protection strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
👉 Learn more about Rezon Halos® and evidence-based brain protection here.
- Long-Term School Outcomes of Children and Adolescents With Traumatic Brain Injury, Prasad M PhD; Swank P PhD; Ewing-Cobbs L PhD. 2017.
- Risk of Mental Health Problems in Children and Youths Following Concussion, Ledoux A, Webster RJ, Clarke AE, et al. 2022.
- World Rugby Rule Regulation 12, Headgear Specification, World Rugby
Author: Judith McMinn
