Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football

Young, Tyler; Daniel, R.W.; Rowson, Steven; Duma, Stefan M.

doi:10.1097/jsm.0000000000000055

Cited by 66 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…A distribution with the highest number of impacts occurring at the front of the helmet is similar to findings in other studies of football athletes. 9,11,39,41 However, when only impacts ≥ 60 g were evaluated, the top of the helmet was the most common impact location during open-field tackling, Oklahoma, one-on-one, and position skill work drills. This finding could be indicative of improper tackling technique, with athletes leading with their heads instead of leading with their shoulders while keeping their heads up.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies of HIE of football athletes typically report the top of the helmet as having a distribution of the highest linear acceleration. 9,11,41 More in-depth video analysis of tackling technique and head impact surface (e.g., helmet, player, or ground) is needed to better understand how tackling technique can be improved to lower HIE. The most common location for impacts ≥ 60 g during tackling drill stations was the front of the helmet, unlike other tackling drills.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Head impact exposure measured in a single youth football team during practice drills

Kelley

Kane

Espeland

et al. 2017

Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics

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OBJECTIVEThis study evaluated the frequency, magnitude, and location of head impacts in practice drills within a youth football team to determine how head impact exposure varies among different types of drills.METHODSOn-field head impact data were collected from athletes participating in a youth football team for a single season. Each athlete wore a helmet instrumented with a Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System head acceleration measurement device during all preseason, regular season, and playoff practices. Video was recorded for all practices, and video analysis was performed to verify head impacts and assign each head impact to a specific drill. Eleven drills were identified: dummy/sled tackling, install, special teams, Oklahoma, one-on-one, open-field tackling, passing, position skill work, multiplayer tackle, scrimmage, and tackling drill stations. Generalized linear models were fitted to log-transformed data, and Wald tests were used to assess differences in head accelerations and impact rates.RESULTSA total of 2125 impacts were measured during 30 contact practices in 9 athletes (mean age 11.1 ± 0.6 years, mean mass 44.9 ± 4.1 kg). Open-field tackling had the highest median and 95th percentile linear accelerations (24.7g and 97.8g, respectively) and resulted in significantly higher mean head accelerations than several other drills. The multiplayer tackle drill resulted in the highest head impact frequency, with an average of 0.59 impacts per minute per athlete, but the lowest 95th percentile linear accelerations of all drills. The front of the head was the most common impact location for all drills except dummy/sled tackling.CONCLUSIONSHead impact exposure varies significantly in youth football practice drills, with several drills exposing athletes to high-magnitude and/or high-frequency head impacts. These data suggest that further study of practice drills is an important step in developing evidence-based recommendations for modifying or eliminating certain high-intensity drills to reduce head impact exposure and injury risk for all levels of play.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Head impact exposure measured in a single youth football team during practice drills

Kelley

Kane

Espeland

et al. 2017

Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics

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“…Just as the 2 teams studied here exhibited differences in head impact exposure and practice style, profiles of head impact exposure and practice structure likely will vary between teams and individuals. 9–12 Head impact exposure and practice structure will vary by age group, 3–5,7,11–14,27 and the game-to-practice ratio will vary by team and league.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…13 Recently, researchers have begun to use instrumentation such as helmet-mounted accelerometer arrays to collect data on youth football players to quantify head impact exposure and assess concussion tolerance. 7,13,14,27 Daniel et al provided 7 players (7–8 years old) with helmets equipped with instrumentation to measure head impacts. With the use of these helmets, Daniel et.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Drill-specific head impact exposure in youth football practice

Campolettano¹,

Rowson²,

Duma³

2016

PED

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OBJECTIVE Although 70% of football players in the United States are youth players (6–14 years old), most research on head impacts in football has focused on high school, collegiate, or professional populations. The objective of this study was to identify the specific activities associated with high-magnitude (acceleration > 40g) head impacts in youth football practices. METHODS A total of 34 players (mean age 9.9 ± 0.6 years) on 2 youth teams were equipped with helmet-mounted accelerometer arrays that recorded head accelerations associated with impacts in practices and games. Videos of practices and games were used to verify all head impacts and identify specific drills associated with each head impact. RESULTS A total of 6813 impacts were recorded, of which 408 had accelerations exceeding 40g (6.0%). For each type of practice drill, impact rates were computed that accounted for the length of time that teams spent on each drill. The tackling drill King of the Circle had the highest impact rate (95% CI 25.6–68.3 impacts/hr). Impact rates for tackling drills (those conducted without a blocker [95% CI 14.7–21.9 impacts/hr] and those with a blocker [95% CI 10.5–23.1 impacts/hr]) did not differ from game impact rates (95% CI 14.2–21.6 impacts/hr). Tackling drills were observed to have a greater proportion (between 40% and 50%) of impacts exceeding 60g than games (25%). The teams in this study participated in tackling or blocking drills for only 22% of their overall practice times, but these drills were responsible for 86% of all practice impacts exceeding 40g. CONCLUSIONS In youth football, high-magnitude impacts occur more often in practices than games, and some practice drills are associated with higher impact rates and accelerations than others. To mitigate high-magnitude head impact exposure in youth football, practices should be modified to decrease the time spent in drills with high impact rates, potentially eliminating a drill such as King of the Circle altogether.

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“…Whether neuroimaging changes are associated with changes in cognitive function in high school and collegiate football players has not been determined, but both high school and college football players are exposed to large numbers of head impacts per playing season, 5,16,74,75 with a high incidence of concussions. 18,77 Given the large number of participants, risk for repetitive head trauma, and risk for concussions, it is important to study both the immediate and long-term cognitive health of high school football players who have a history of multiple concussions.…”

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confidence: 99%

Multiple Past Concussions in High School Football Players

et al. 2016

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Background There is increasing concern about the possible long-term effects of multiple concussions, particularly on the developing adolescent brain. Whether the effect of multiple concussions is detectable in high school football players has not been well studied, although the public health implications are great in this population. Purpose To determine if there are measureable differences in cognitive functioning or symptom reporting in high school football players with a history of multiple concussions. Study Design Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods Participants included 5232 male adolescent football players (mean [±SD] age, 15.5 ± 1.2 years) who completed baseline testing between 2009 and 2014. On the basis of injury history, athletes were grouped into 0 (n = 4183), 1 (n = 733), 2 (n = 216), 3 (n = 67), or ≥4 (n = 33) prior concussions. Cognitive functioning was measured by the Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) battery, and symptom ratings were obtained from the Post-Concussion Symptom Scale. Results There were no statistically significant differences between groups (based on the number of reported concussions) regarding cognitive functioning. Athletes with ≥3 prior concussions reported more symptoms than did athletes with 0 or 1 prior injury. In multivariate analyses, concussion history was independently related to symptom reporting but less so than developmental problems (eg, attention or learning problems) or other health problems (eg, past treatment for psychiatric problems, headaches, or migraines). Conclusion In the largest study to date, high school football players with multiple past concussions performed the same on cognitive testing as those with no prior concussions. Concussion history was one of several factors that were independently related to symptom reporting.

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Head Impact Exposure in Youth Football

Abstract: These data are a further step toward developing effective strategies to reduce the incidence of concussion in youth football and have applications toward youth-specific football helmet designs.

Cited by 66 publications

References 35 publications

Head impact exposure measured in a single youth football team during practice drills

Head impact exposure measured in a single youth football team during practice drills

Drill-specific head impact exposure in youth football practice

Multiple Past Concussions in High School Football Players

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