NHL's Comp Provider Being Proactive, Where Does the NFLPA Stand on This?

NHL Worker's Comp Recognizing Concussion Measure, What About the NFL ? 

National Hockey League team dentists

around the league are learning of the benefits in becoming certified to make the Maher Mouth Guard. This evaluation protocol has helped players of all levels reduce the chances of

concussion from blows to the jaw. N.E. Patriot and Washington Capitals players have benefited from a preseason, prior to play evaluation protocol. In fact, one of the NHL's  major worker's compensation holder, is providing a benefit to implement this procedure in an effort to reduce concussion and iability to its compensation payout's due to concussion. As a return to play initiative, it should be considered for a mandate.

Many of these Washington

Capitals players had concussion historys, once fitted with the Maher Mouth

Guard, results this year were astounding, reducing the cost of concussion to the system.

Paula Duffy, National Sports Examiner for

Examiner.com and regular contributor to The

Huffington Post wrote an article (“If a Simple

Mouth Guard Can Prevent Concussions, Why

Isn’t the NFL All Over It?”) that has ignited

interest in and directed attention towards ways

to reduce or prevent the alarming number of

sports-related concussions, especially in the

National Football League. NFLPA executives should take notice of this precedent set in the NHL.

Duffy’s column in the Examiner.com

expressed concern for

St. Louis Rams quarterback Trent Green and

his return to the field after suffering two

concussions in one calendar year, one

especially severe. These types of injuries rob the compensation fund and raise premiums, specifically when they come in large numbers and leave players out for long periods.

New England Patriots team dentist Dr.

Gerald Maher, of Mahercor Laboratories

(recently featured in ESPN articles), has

developed the Maher Mouth Guard. This

protective device aids in the prevention of

concussions for all athletes participating in

contact sports, from professionals to youth

players.

Dr. Maher said, in a 2007 Boston Globe

article, that the current NFL-approved helmet

chin strap directly contributes to concussions

that arise from a blow to the jaw.

It positions the jawbone tightly against the

skull, resulting in joint cartilage derangement

and increases the likelihood of traumatizing

the nervous system and the bone striking the

temporal lobe of the brain, increasing the

symptoms of dizziness, the sensation of

seeing stars and headaches commonly known

as a “ding.”

The Maher Mouth Guard specifically

helps reduce the chances of suffering from a

concussion from a blow to the jaw – helmet

improvement focuses only on cerebral

concussion or “blows to the crown.” Patriot players who wear it, have a documented history of less lost time due to this injury.

The construction of the articulated

retainer-like Maher mouth guard, with the

prescribed thickness and temporomandibular

joint (TMJ) alignment was developed with

world champion boxers to correct “Glass

Jaw” syndrome found to be temporal

mandible disorder or TMD.

This individually-fitted patent-pending

mouth guard, as well as wearing properly

fitted protective head gear and chin straps,

allows for the utmost protection from

dangerous head trauma. In fact, most pro

players who have had a history of recurrent

concussions have halted any future events,

even while wearing old-style non-concussion

specific-designed helmets.

Non-corrective common custom-made or

boil-and-bite mouth guards reduce

neuropsychological deficits but do nothing to

identify and correct disharmony in the jaw

joint. They only “lock” the jaw into a

susceptible negative position.

Duffy’s articles in the Examiner.com and

Huffington Post center on the questions

surrounding the tentative interest by the NFL

to study Dr. Maher’s product, which is already

successfully used by the New England

Patriots, as shown in an online ESPN article. Maybe they should take a closer look at their books and this mouth guard,  when considering future mandate in the prevention of concussion

Numerous high school and college

athletes, individual NFL players and a number

of boxing, hockey and lacrosse professionals

have been relieved of recurrent concussion

due to the Maher Mouth Guard.

Recent exposure and articles have led the

U.S.military to contact Mahercor officials

about its use in protecting soldiers exposed to

improvised explosive device (IED) blasts.

Many experts in TMJ believe the chin strap

designs may be the link. A screening

procedure developed by Mahercor

laboratories is another tool in determining

susceptibility to mild traumatic brain injury

(MTBI). Members of a platoon of soldiers is now wearing this innovation in Iraq, where dollars and cent do not matter, it's a matter of life and death.

The government is now reviewing the

evidence and considering action

implementing such a program, which would

be cost-effective and would help protect

soldiers on patrols or when the unexpected

force of an IED blast occurs. One of President Obama's initiatives is to reduce brain injury, like the NFL, this device is already being used. Officials only need to take a closer look at the work Mahercor Laboratories officials are doing to help.

Mahercor Laboratories product line includes an accredited DVD home study,

a required prerequisite for making the Maher

mouth guard by licensed dentists. Many NHL/NHL/NBA team dentists are already making this articulated mouth guard.

There are three levels of the Maher Mouth

Guard, all for different uses, football, hockey, basketball, lacrosse, MMA ect, of which are described in detail on

the Mahercor Laboratories web site.