Sports are an important part of youth culture, but the risks of concussions need to be addressed, former athletes, neurologists and a representative from the Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) told members of the Senate Commerce Committee on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.

“I don't see this problem going away with equipment,” said Dr. Ann McKee, a professor of neurology and pathology at Boston University, according to ABC News. “I think equipment is going to improve this issue, but it’s not going to solve this issue. We really have to address the way sports are played.”

“Now that athletes, coaches and parents have a better understanding of concussions, some sports equipment makers appear to be a taking advantage,” Sen. Tom Udall, a New Mexico Democrat, said at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearing, according to the Washington Post. “There are a number of so-called, quote, anti-concussion and concussion-reducing devices on the market. … We need to make sure advertisers play by the rules.”

He singled out several companies, including Riddell, which claims its Revolution helmet helps reduce concussions, and Brain-Pad, which blares on packaging blown up for the hearing, “Reduces Risk of CONCUSSIONS!” from lower jaw impacts. The packaging says its equipment creates “BRAIN SAFETY SPACE!”

Dr. Jeffrey Kutcher, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Michigan and director of Michigan Neurosport, a clinic that diagnoses and treats concussions for athletes, testified that no piece of equipment can significantly prevent concussions.

“The potential harm that I see being caused by products that claim to prevent concussion when they do not is far more than simply the financial harm of paying more for something that isn’t likely to work as claimed,” he said. “It is the harm that comes from having a false sense of security, from not understanding how the injury occurs and what can actually be done to prevent it.”

In a statement Wednesday night, Riddell said that advances in technology have improved the ability of football helmets to reduce the incidence of concussions, although no helmet available today can claim to prevent concussions. But the company did point to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center which found that Riddell Revolution reduced concussion risk by 31 percent.

“We are confident that this research data is reliable and accurate,” Riddell said.