Certain Factors Increase Magnitude of Head Impact in HS Football

In high school football, head impacts are more severe in the second quarter of the game, when caused by contact with another player and after longer closing distances, according to a new U.S. study.

The researchers say rule changes to minimize these situations should be considered to reduce the number and severity of head impacts.

“Impacts to the head that resulted from contact with another player were of higher magnitude than contact with other surfaces, such as the ground,” said lead author Julianne D. Schmidt of the University of Georgia in Athens.

“We also found that running a long distance before colliding with an opponent resulted in higher magnitude head impacts compared to running a short distance, especially when players started in a 3-point stance or were being struck,” she told Reuters Health.

For 13 games, 32 high school football players wore helmets fitted with telemetry instruments to record and analyze head impacts. Combining that data with game film, the researchers assessed nearly 3,900 head impacts among the players… Read More>>

Source: Reuters