In the past decade, American football has been in turmoil about brain damage suffered by players at all levels of the game. The National Football League is facing a class action lawsuit from hundreds of former players because of head trauma. They are donating huge amounts of funding to research the problem. Helmet manufacturers are searching for the idea that will protect players from concussions the best they can. The NFL and NCAA have put in a number of policy changes in an effort to reduce the number of head injuries.
However, for such a big problem in the America 's most watched game, there is almost information that could start up a potential solution. Even with generous donations from the NFL, the players, and the medical and stat …show more content…
NOCSAE drops each helmet without a facemask on six different locations from a height of 1.52 meters. All impacts are centered, and result in large linear accelerations. The test, which is primarily designed to check for protection against skull fracture, has remained largely unchanged since its implementation in 1973. The incidence of skull fracture and other catastrophic head injuries in football has dropped off dramatically since that time, but the NOCSAE standard does little to test helmets for their effectiveness in preventing brain injuries like concussions. (Laboratory Procedural Guide for Certifying Newly Manufactured Football …show more content…
Crisco, Wilcox, Beckwith, Chu, Duhaime, Rowson, Duma, Maerlender, McAllister, and Greenwald (2011) investigated 314 Division I NCAA athletes from Dartmouth College, Brown University, and Virginia Tech in order to quantify head impacts in terms of magnitude, location, and frequency, and differentiate collisions by position. Using the Simbex HIT System, the researchers calculated peak and median linear acceleration, rotational acceleration, impact location, and frequency for each position, and were able to distinguish certain impact characteristics by position. Peak rotational acceleration, measured in rad/s2, was calculated by multiplying the vector product of peak linear acceleration and a point of rotation 10 centimeters below the center of gravity of the head (a location validated by previous research). Consistent with previous data, Crisco et al (2011) found that offensive lineman, defensive lineman, and linebackers experienced the lowest magnitude impacts but the highest frequency of collisions over a season, more than twice any other position. Running backs received the greatest magnitude impacts, while quarterbacks sustained the greatest magnitude and most frequent hits to the back of the head. The study provided valuable data in quantifying head impacts and did succeed in differentiating impacts by position,
However, for such a big problem in the America 's most watched game, there is almost information that could start up a potential solution. Even with generous donations from the NFL, the players, and the medical and stat …show more content…
NOCSAE drops each helmet without a facemask on six different locations from a height of 1.52 meters. All impacts are centered, and result in large linear accelerations. The test, which is primarily designed to check for protection against skull fracture, has remained largely unchanged since its implementation in 1973. The incidence of skull fracture and other catastrophic head injuries in football has dropped off dramatically since that time, but the NOCSAE standard does little to test helmets for their effectiveness in preventing brain injuries like concussions. (Laboratory Procedural Guide for Certifying Newly Manufactured Football …show more content…
Crisco, Wilcox, Beckwith, Chu, Duhaime, Rowson, Duma, Maerlender, McAllister, and Greenwald (2011) investigated 314 Division I NCAA athletes from Dartmouth College, Brown University, and Virginia Tech in order to quantify head impacts in terms of magnitude, location, and frequency, and differentiate collisions by position. Using the Simbex HIT System, the researchers calculated peak and median linear acceleration, rotational acceleration, impact location, and frequency for each position, and were able to distinguish certain impact characteristics by position. Peak rotational acceleration, measured in rad/s2, was calculated by multiplying the vector product of peak linear acceleration and a point of rotation 10 centimeters below the center of gravity of the head (a location validated by previous research). Consistent with previous data, Crisco et al (2011) found that offensive lineman, defensive lineman, and linebackers experienced the lowest magnitude impacts but the highest frequency of collisions over a season, more than twice any other position. Running backs received the greatest magnitude impacts, while quarterbacks sustained the greatest magnitude and most frequent hits to the back of the head. The study provided valuable data in quantifying head impacts and did succeed in differentiating impacts by position,