Modern Football Helmets Fail to Prevent Concussion-Risk

A recent study shows that football helmets may not help protect athletes as much as previously thought. According to researchers from Florida State University College, due to improper protection from the equipment, hits to the side of the head can result in a possible concussion and even brain injury.

"Protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma," said study co-author Dr. Frank Conidi, director of the Florida Center for Headache and Sports Neurology and an assistant clinical professor of neurology at Florida State University College of Medicine, via a press release.

For their study, researchers placed sensors in a crash test dummy and conducted 330 tests to determine how well 10 leading football helmets protected participants against brain injury during 12 mile-per-hour impacts.

The helmets were: Adams a2000, Rawlings Quantum, Riddell 360, Riddell Revolution, Riddell Revolution Speed, Riddell VSR4, Schutt Air Advantage, Schutt DNA Pro+, Xenith X1 and Xenith X2.

Researchers found that the helmets typically protected against brain injury only around 20 percent of the time more than if the player did not wear a helmet at all.

"Alarmingly, those that offered the least protection are among the most popular on the field," Conidi said, via the release. "Biomechanics researchers have long understood that rotational forces, not linear forces, are responsible for serious brain damage including concussion, brain injury complications and brain bleeds. Yet generations of football and other sports participants have been under the assumption that their brains are protected by their investment in headwear protection."

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More information regarding the study can be found via the American Academy of Neurology.