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With Week 1 of the new NFL season wrapped up and Week 2 barely begun, this year’s round of head injuries in professional football has commenced. Before the games even began, 10 players were on the  disabled list with concussions, and several more have been sustained during play, including Bengals Linebacker Vontaze Burfict and Jags safety Jonathan Cyprien.

Though the handling of head injuries across football has improved greatly recently, we still have a long way to go in discovering how best to prevent, diagnose and treat them. Millions of dollars is being spent on research to better understand these injuries that seem an epidemic in not only football but in athletics as a whole as well.

Over the past three years, the NFL has averaged 247 concussions per season. With improved awareness and further research, let’s hope that number will be dramatically lower three years from now.

*Scientists have no conclusive evidence as to whether or how the reduction of g-forces during impacts reduces the number or degree of concussions and head injuries. GelDefender products provide supplemental padding as well as cooling and comfort benefits when used with helmets and caps. Participants in activities in which head impacts can occur should always use tested and approved helmets for protection. However, no helmet or supplemental padding can protect the user from all serious head or neck injuries that can result from impacts.