How to protect your head from rotational impacts: Introducing Mips® safety system

The job site can be just as unpredictable as a sports field. Where football players are dodging tackles and hits, construction workers are actively avoiding falling objects, slip risks, and bump hazards. Just as athletes wear protective gear to prevent injuries during intense activities, workers in construction, manufacturing, or any hazardous environment need safety helmets that provide the best protection.

Did you know that impacts rarely happen from straight on? They typically occur at an angled impact that causes the brain to twist within the skull. Think about when you see a football player get tackled – it’s often from an angle and not head-on. This is similar to a construction site where falling items or bump hazards often strike at an angle, not in a linear path. It was these types of injuries and hazards that drove a group of engineers to develop a technology called Mips®, a groundbreaking technology that is designed to enhance head safety by reducing rotational forces during impacts. 

Recognizing the critical need for safety in high-risk occupations, we’ve partnered with Mips® to develop a safety helmet that offers next-level protection for workers. Just like athletes preparing for their game, industrial work crews deserve the best defense against potential head injuries. 

Head injuries come in all different shapes and sizes

From minor cuts and bruises to concussions, TBIs, and fractures, head injuries can come in all shapes and sizes.

Work-related Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBIs) account for about 20% to 25% of injuries on the job, and they're especially common in the construction industry. In 2021, nearly 1 in 5 deaths at work occurred on construction sites. A big reason for this was slips, trips, and falls, which made up 46.2% of those fatalities.* 

TBIs can cause serious damage, depending on the severity of the injury. TBIs disrupt the brain’s normal function and can happen as a result of both direct and indirect impacts. 

Types of TBIs 

When it comes to Traumatic Brain Injuries, it’s important to recognize that not all injuries are visible. Here’s a breakdown of the different types of injuries and TBIs:  

Visible head injuries:  

• Scalp injuries such as cuts, scrapes, and bruises 
• Fractures 
• Penetrating injuries 

Head injuries we can’t always see:  

• Subdural hematomas: These occur when veins between the brain and its outer covering tear, leading to bleeding on the brain’s surface. They often result from a sharp impact or fall. 

• Diffuse axonal injuries: This type of injury happens when the brain moves quickly inside the skull, which can tear the long nerve fibers that connect different parts of the brain. It’s frequently seen in high-speed incidents, such as falls. 

• Concussions: The most common type of TBI, concussions occur when a jolt or blow causes the brain to shake inside the skull. They can happen from seemingly minor incidents, like slips or falls.  

In the workplace, concussions account for 75% of all TBIs*. While often labeled as “mild,” concussions can lead to significant symptoms like headaches, dizziness, confusion, and difficulty concentrating. Recovery can take weeks, emphasizing the need for proper care and attention.  

To fully understand how these injuries occur, it’s important to explore the difference between linear and rotational movement in the brain, as both can lead to different types of brain injuries depending on how the impact occurs.  

Differences between linear and rotational impacts

Both linear and rotational impacts can cause serious injuries but in different ways.

Linear impacts happen when an object strikes your head in a straight line. Think of it like getting hit by a basketball or having your head pushed backward during a car crash. These impacts can result in injuries like skull fractures or contusions where the brain strikes the inside of the skull.

Rotational impacts happen when your head twists or turns sharply, often due to an angled hit. For example, if you’re playing football and get tackled from the side, your head might rotate quickly, forcing your brain to rotate in your skull, which can cause the tearing of nerve fibers in the brain.

Traditional safety helmets are tested and designed primarily for linear, direct impacts, but research indicates that the brain is more vulnerable to rotational forces when your brain twists and turns, which is why we’ve partnered with Mips® –to create a safety helmet with next-level safety to protect your head at all angles. 

Not all safety helmets are created equal

The Mips® safety system is designed to help reduce twisting in the brain from angled impacts by copying how the brain is naturally protected. The human brain is surrounded by cerebrospinal fluid, which lets it move a little inside the skull during an impact, helping to lessen the force that hits the brain. Mips works in a similar way with its three-layer design:

1. Outer shell: The hard helmet outer shell provides protection against direct impacts by absorbing the initial force of an impact.  
2. Low-friction Mips layer: The second layer is the low-friction Mips® layer, which allows for 10-15mm of movement in any direction. Upon impact, this layer shifts slightly, moving the rotational forces away from the head.  
3. Inner padding and harness:The comfort padding and harness system ensures a secure fit for the helmet and adds cushioning to further reduce the impact force transferred to the wearers head. 

Mips® technology mimics our brain’s own protection system, significantly reducing the risk of serious brain injuries from twisting movements during angled hits. Research shows that helmets with Mips provide 10% more protection against these twisting impacts than helmets without it. So, when it comes to choosing a safer helmet, it’s really a “no-brainer”! 

We can help  

Whether you’re an athlete or construction worker, everyone deserves next-level head protection. If you’re looking for industrial work protection, our Ceros® XP450A and Ceros® XP450AE with Mips safety system can help you achieve just that. 

Have any questions or need additional information? Reach out to us; we would love to help. 

*https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2016/03/21/constructiontbi/ 

*https://www.uvex-safety.com/blog/head-impacts-and-rotational-motion/