Comparison of Laboratory and On-Field Performance of American Football Helmets

Bailey, Ann; McMurry, Timothy L.; Cormier, Joseph M.; Funk, James R.; Crandall, Jeff R.; Mack, Christina; Myers, Barry S.; Arbogast, Kristy B.

doi:10.1007/s10439-020-02627-5

Cited by 31 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(59 reference statements)

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“…Both producers and NOC-SAE indicate that football helmets may not fully protect the player. Other research communities have made similar conclusions in the literature [58,[84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Design and Virtual Testing of American Football Helmets–A Review

Dymek

Ptak

Fernandes

2021

Arch Computat Methods Eng

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This paper aims to review the recent progress in the research carried out by scientists worldwide regarding American Footballers' head injuries and head protective equipment, focusing on the role of computation methods, mainly finite element method application to American Football helmet design and testing as well as head injury biomechanics. The helmet technology has been constantly improved, and it is driven by market competition, medical records, coaches and athletes' self-awareness. With finite element analysis and computational resources development, it is possible to develop more accurate brain models to recreate American Footballers' head impacts. This method seems to be an excellent simulation tool to verify the helmet's ability to absorb energy and enable the researchers to have an insight into head kinematics and tissue-level injuries. The work is focused on head injuries in American Football as the sport becomes more popular across the globe. Additionally, a reference to the development and newest technology is presented. The review's proposed approach gathers studies presented within the last decade regarding the coupling of finite element brain models with helmets in standardised or on-field conditions. The synthesis of the existing state of the art may enhance the researchers to continue investigating the athlete's trauma and improve the protective gear technology to minimise head injuries. The authors presented numerous studies regarding concussions and the newest findings from the last decade, including Finite Element Head models (FEHm) with American Football helmet simulations. All the studies were searched through Google Scholar, Scopus and ResearchGate databases.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 62%

Design and Virtual Testing of American Football Helmets–A Review

Dymek

Ptak

Fernandes

2021

Arch Computat Methods Eng

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“…Changes to the kickoff, which eliminated running starts and wedge blocks, were piloted and subsequently implemented. Extensive laboratory testing on commercially available helmets, 1 subsequent distribution of results to players and staff in a poster format, and instantiation of rules mandating helmet transitions out of poorly performing helmets led to movement of players into higher performing helmets. These efforts led to 99% of players wearing better performing helmets by the 2019 season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Epidemiology of Concussion in the National Football League, 2015-2019

Mack

Solomon

Covassin

et al. 2021

Sports Health: A Multidisciplinary Approach

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Background: Concussion in American football, and specifically the National Football League (NFL) is a major area of interest and key focus for injury prevention. Complete and accurate characterization of when, how, and to whom these injuries occur can facilitate injury reduction efforts. Existing studies of concussion in the NFL use publicly available data, potentially limiting data quality and the inferences that can be made. Hypothesis: Concussion incidence in the NFL decreased across the 2015-2019 seasons. Study Design: Descriptive epidemiology study. Level of Evidence: Level 4. Methods: Concussion incidence, including counts, one-season risk, and rates per game and player-plays, among active NFL players from 2015 to 2019 is described by year, season, play type, and roster position. Results: A total 1302 concussions were identified from 2015 to 2019 among 1004 players. Of these, 80% occurred in NFL games. The average annual incidence of in-season game concussions changed over the study period, from 230.7 per season (2015-2017) to 177.0 per season (2018-2019); this represented a 23% decrease in game settings ( P < 0.01). Practice concussions fluctuated across the years of the study from 38 to 67 per season (average = 50.8/season). There were 70.6 concussions per 100 preseason games, which was slightly higher than the regular season rate per game of 61.7. Overall, there were 790 regular season game concussions across 4,657,243 player-plays and 114,428 player-games during the 5-year study. In regular season games, the majority of concussions were sustained on running and passing plays (n = 119/season), and the highest average rate per play occurred on kickoffs (0.69/100 plays). Defensive secondary (cornerbacks, safeties, and generic defensive backs) and offensive line incurred the most concussions, and the highest rates of concussion were among tight ends and wide receivers. Conclusion and Relevance: Concussions in the NFL are a key focus for player safety. Concussion reduction strategies were implemented before 2018, after which there was a sustained 2-year decrease in concussion incidence, providing a new benchmark from which to work toward further injury reduction.

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“…A recent study further confirmed a positive correlation between impact testing and real-world performance of helmets, whereby helmets which exhibited reduced headform accelerations in laboratory tests were also associated with lower concussion rates. 1 However, predicting an absolute concussion probability depends on the accuracy of injury risk curves that have been reconstructed from a limited number of real-world injury data to estimate brain tolerance limits. Moreover, these injury risk curves are highly non-linear, for which reason a relatively small difference in peak rotational velocity can translate into a large difference in injury probability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact Performance Comparison of Advanced Snow Sport Helmets with Dedicated Rotation-Damping Systems

2021

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Rotational acceleration of the head is a principal cause of concussion and traumatic brain injury. Several rotation-damping systems for helmets have been introduced to better protect the brain from rotational forces. But these systems have not been evaluated in snow sport helmets. This study investigated two snow sport helmets with different rotation-damping systems, termed MIPS and WaveCel, in comparison to a standard snow sport helmet without a rotation-damping system. Impact performance was evaluated by vertical drops of a helmeted Hybrid III head and neck onto an oblique anvil. Six impact conditions were tested, comprising two impact speeds of 4.8 and 6.2 m/s, and three impact locations. Helmet performance was quantified in terms of the linear and rotational kinematics, and the predicted probability of concussion. Both rotation-damping systems significantly reduced rotational acceleration under all six impact conditions compared to the standard helmet, but their effect on linear acceleration was less consistent. The highest probability of concussion for the standard helmet was 89%, while helmets with MIPS and WaveCel systems exhibited a maximal probability of concussion of 67 and 7%, respectively. In conclusion, rotation-damping systems of advanced snow sport helmets can significantly reduce rotational head acceleration and the associated concussion risk.

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Comparison of Laboratory and On-Field Performance of American Football Helmets

Cited by 31 publications

References 40 publications

Design and Virtual Testing of American Football Helmets–A Review

Design and Virtual Testing of American Football Helmets–A Review

Epidemiology of Concussion in the National Football League, 2015-2019

Impact Performance Comparison of Advanced Snow Sport Helmets with Dedicated Rotation-Damping Systems

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