Improving Concussion Recovery: The Financial Benefits of Using PolarCap?

PolarCap? System?is a portable cooling device with a patened silicone-based headcap. It should be used for a minimum of 45 minutes in the acute phase after a brain injury.?In the SHL (Swedish Hockey League) teams using PolarCap? have annually saved 59 days of player absence from a concussion, resulting in a?€31,000 injury cost saving per team.

THE COST OF CONCUSSION FOR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS

Injuries are a significant financial burden for professional sports teams and organizations, especially when the injured player is a high-paid star. When a player is unable to play, it can be a huge financial drain, the team often must continue to pay the player's salary while they are out of action. In addition, the team may incur other costs related to the injury, such as medical expenses, rehabilitation and physical therapy, team performance decrease, and the cost of replacement players.

While it is true that injuries are a natural part of sports and cannot always be avoided, teams take steps to mitigate the financial impact of injuries.?

Teams invest in player development and training programs to help prevent injuries, as well as purchase insurance policies to cover?the cost of injuries.

In addition, teams may have contingency plans in place to address the loss of key players due to injury. Teams and organizations are also now investing into new technologies aimed at minimizing the risk of injury and improving injury recovery.

The financial impact of injuries is not just limited to the team or organization. Injuries can also have significant financial consequences for the injured players themselves, especially if they are unable to play or earn a salary while they are recovering. In some cases, players may need to rely on their personal savings or insurance policies to cover the cost of their injuries.

CONCUSSION COST FOR A LEAGUE

With so much money lost to injured reserve, professional teams and organizations continue to invest considerably into the examination of player health and safety, in order to minimize sunk costs.

NHL

In the National Hockey League (NHL), injuries are estimated to cost the league in excess of $200M in missed player time every year, with concussions alone costing close to $50M a year.

FINANCIAL BENEFIT SAVINGS OF USING POLARCAP? FOR PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAMS

Aside from the positive health benefits of using PolarCap? for players recovering from a concussion, implementing PolarCap? also brings substantial financial benefits to professional clubs and organizations. PolarCool has conducted additional research based on the 5-year clinical result from the Lund University study, to showcase the cost of concussion for sports teams and the financial benefits of using PolarCap?.

Calculations show that investing in PolarCap is cost beneficial as it reduces the injury sunk cost drastically for teams and organizations.

The research is based on additional information available from the SHL in relation to salary and concussion rate in the league.

Additional calculations can be provided for the English Premier League calculations, based on additional information from a prominent article by Forbes Magazine. The article calculates the heavy cost of injury for Premier League teams throughout seasons that took place during the same period as the clinical result from the Lund University study (see the full article?here).

The research demonstrates the injury cost that a concussed player can have on teams, as well as the potential financial benefits that using the PolarCap? System can have. See the full article?here.

THE RESEARCH

The calculations are based on the financial value of a player and were conducted on 5 of Europe’s sports leagues; The Swedish Hockey League, The English Premier League, The Top 14 (French Rugby), The Danish Handball League and HockeyAllsvenskan (2nd Swedish hockey league).

Together with a league's estimated incidence of concussions and the average cost of a salary in the respective league, yearly savings have been determined using the return to play results from the SHL study conducted by Lund University.

For example, the yearly injury cost savings for a team competing in the SHL was €31,000. Using the Forbes article statistics and estimated concussion rate for The English Premier League, the corresponding savings for a club in the English Premier League were shown to be €155,000. Additionally, for the other leagues, team savings were shown as; French Rugby’s Top 14 = €93,000, Danish Handball League = €6000 and HockeyAllsvenskan = €9000.

SUMMARY OF RESEARCH

This research demonstrates that PolarCap? not only has important benefits for the short and long term health of athletes after suffering a concussion but also that clubs, insurance companies, and leagues could save significantly from using PolarCap? on concussed players, due to the improved return to play time, limiting the cost of player absence. The calculations can also be done for other leagues using accurate concussion and salary rates, respectively. You can download the report summarising the effect for SHL-clubs, also containing estimates for some other professional leagues in Europe.

ADDITIONAL CALCULATION COST

Also to consider are the additional costs associated with concussion, such as short an long term health risks, replacing injured players etc.

Short and Long term Health risks:?Concussions can range from minor to severe. Anytime an athlete takes a blow to the head, they can be in danger of serious and lasting brain injury.

Replacing injured players:?Often, teams and clubs have to replace an injured player mid-way though a season due to long term and short term player absence from concussion. Resulting in extra salary costs and transfer fees.

Insurance fee increases:?The longer a player is out due to concussion the more likely that the insurance fees increase for clubs. As well as this, failure to warn players of the possible risks, failure to protect them from head injuries, and failure to diagnose and treat suspected head injuries, could result in litigation issues for clubs and teams.

PR:?The issue of concussion is at the forefront of all contact and combat sports. Failure to provide players with avalaible concussion treatment practices, could result in negative PR for clubs and teams

APPENDIX

Below is a point by point detailed description of the research calculation