In yet another testament to the severity of the head injury problem, the U.S. government has begun a study of youth sports-related head injuries, according to Reuters. The study, which was prompted at least in part by concerns over the suicides among professional football players, was launched by the Institute of Medicine among athletes from elementary through young adulthood.

The initiative, according to Reuters, will be "one of the most extensive ever done” and should garner plenty of attention from the public, given the sensitive nature of the topic. Child safety is obviously an incredibly important topic to the general public, and sports are, in one way or another, near and dear to the heart of most Americans. As Robert Graham, head of the study’s panel, put it, “You start talking about, 'Is it safe for Sally to be playing soccer?,' you get lots of public interest.”

Given the scarcity of data about youth sports head injuries and the critical nature of the issue, several big-name organizations in the medical world and the government have stepped up to the plate to sponsor this study: the Department of Defense, the Centers for Disease Control, and the National Institutes of Health to name some.

The study is in its very early stages as yet and probably won’t be concluded and presented to the Institute until summer, and it will be late 2013 before its findings are published for the public to examine. Be ready for some sobering wake-up calls when that time comes.

*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^TM 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.