With the NFL playoffs in full swing and a peak in awareness of sports-related concussions and traumatic brain injury, an innovative Denver-area company is seeing a spike in interest and sales of its wearable protective head gear.

“It’s the perfect storm of head-related injury awareness,” said Sport Shieldz® CEO, inventor and founder Bill Jennings. “You can’t talk about the NFL playoffs without the issue of concussions coming up.”

Approximately 1.6 million to 3.8 million sports- and recreation-related concussions occur in the U.S. each year, according to research cited by the BrainLine project. The Sports Concussion Institute reports that more than 50 percent of high school athletes have sustained a concussion before participation in high school sports, and 36 percent of collegiate athletes have a history of multiple concussions.

Sport Shieldz Protective Head Gear is an impact-dissipating, foam-padded skull cap that has been proven, in most cases, when worn alone or with other properly fitted sports helmets, to reduce a percentage of g-force that would have normally reached the brain during certain collisions.

The NFL playoffs, along with the recent movie Concussion starring Will Smith, NFL concussion litigation and recent local publicity have given Sport Shieldz a jumpstart on 2016 for its line of protective head gear.

“All the buzz is great for our business, but it’s especially good for building awareness of sports-related concussions and traumatic brain injury,” said Jennings, who initially developed his Sport Shieldz idea based on his days of playing high school football. “The awareness is driving a lot of research and innovation in terms of identifying, treating and preventing head trauma in sports.”

Unlike animals such as bighorn sheep and woodpeckers, which have natural shock absorbing mechanisms inside the skull creating a “bubble wrap effect,” humans have no natural ability to protect the brain from such impacts. However, with the right materials and design, the severity or amount of some head-related injuries can be reduced by dissipating the G-force created by certain impacts.

Listed among Sport Shieldz customers are a major metro Denver-area public school district along with athletes, parents of athletes and competitors in all walks of sporting and outdoor activities, including: lacrosse; hockey; baseball; basketball; skateboarding; skiing; cycling; motocross; rodeo; and equestrian events. Sport Shieldz has also catered to the special needs population and drawn interest from various occupational activities.

“No head gear can claim to prevent concussions, but Sport Shieldz can provide peace of mind by delivering an added measure of protection,” said Bill Jennings. “Our company’s focus is on proactively reducing the risk of sports-related concussions, but we’re all working toward the goal of providing extra protection and extra safety before serious injuries happen.”

Independent lab tests have proven that Sport Shieldz padded skull caps can decrease the amount of G-force that will reach the head. While Sport Shieldz cannot guarantee avoidance of head injuries, any percentage of decrease in impact can be beneficial. Sport Shieldz is lightweight, fashionable, washable and antimicrobial. Additionally, Sport Shieldz skull caps do not void National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOSCAE) certification, because skull caps are specifically not the kind of product that would create a “new model” of helmet, according to current NOSCAE guidelines.

About Sport Shieldz

Founded in early 2012 by Bill Jennings, Sport Shieldz is committed to safety, and the research and product development of cutting-edge, comfortable head gear. Our line of protective skull caps are produced with state-of-the-art, impact-dissipating antimicrobial foam. These caps can be worn with or without helmets and are suitable for most types of sports and helmet-wearing activities. The team at Sport Shieldz also believes in educating athletes and parents of active children in the principals of head safety. We encourage the importance of wearing proper helmets and safety gear and practicing proper activity techniques. For more information or to order our products, visit www.sportshieldz.com, find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sportshieldz or call 866-211-0043.