Head impact exposure and concussion in women’s collegiate club lacrosse

Background: Youth flag football participation has rapidly grown and is a potentially safer alternative to tackle football. However, limited research has quantitatively assessed youth flag football head impact biomechanics. Purpose: To describe head impact biomechanics outcomes in youth flag football and explore factors associated with head impact magnitudes. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: We monitored 52 player-seasons among 48 male flag football players (mean ± SD; age, 9.4 ± 1.1 years; height, 138.6 ± 9.5 cm; mass, 34.7 ± 9.2 kg) across 3 seasons using head impact sensors during practices and games. Sensors recorded head impact frequencies, peak linear ( g) and rotational (rad/s2) acceleration, and estimated impact location. Impact rates (IRs) were calculated as 1 impact per 10 player-exposures; IR ratios (IRRs) were used to compare season, event type, and age group IRs; and 95% CIs were calculated for IRs and IRRs. Weekly and seasonal cumulative head impact frequencies and magnitudes were calculated. Mixed-model regression models examined the association between player characteristics, event type, and seasons and peak linear and rotational accelerations. Results: A total of 429 head impacts from 604 exposures occurred across the study period (IR, 7.10; 95% CI, 4.81-10.50). Weekly and seasonal cumulative median head impact frequencies were 1.00 (range, 0-2.63) and 7.50 (range, 0-21.00), respectively. The most frequent estimated head impact locations were the skull base (n = 96; 22.4%), top of the head (n = 74; 17.2%), and back of the head (n = 66; 15.4%). The combined event type IRs differed among the 3 seasons (IRR range, 1.45-2.68). Games produced greater IRs (IRR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.01-1.53) and peak linear acceleration (mean difference, 5.69 g; P = .008) than did practices. Older players demonstrated greater combined event–type IRs (IRR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.12-1.90) and increased head impact magnitudes than did younger players, with every 1-year age increase associated with a 3.78 g and 602.81-rad/s2 increase in peak linear and rotational acceleration magnitude, respectively ( P≤ .005). Conclusion: Head IRs and magnitudes varied across seasons, thus highlighting multiple season and cohort data are valuable when providing estimates. Head IRs were relatively low across seasons, while linear and rotational acceleration magnitudes were relatively high.

Download Full-text

A coupled physical-computational methodology for the investigation of short fall related infant head impact injury

Forensic Science International ◽

10.1016/j.forsciint.2019.04.034 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 300 ◽

pp. 170-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Ghaidaa A. Khalid ◽

Raj K. Prabhu ◽

Owen Arthurs ◽

Michael D. Jones

Keyword(s):

Head Impact ◽

Computational Methodology ◽

Impact Injury

Download Full-text

Football concussion case series using biomechanical and video analysis

Neurology ◽

10.1212/01.wnl.0000550623.36010.20 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 91 (23 Supplement 1) ◽

pp. S2.2-S2

Author(s):

Mirellie Kelley ◽

Jillian Urban ◽

Derek Jones ◽

Alexander Powers ◽

Christopher T. Whitlow ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Video Analysis ◽

Case Series ◽

Linear Acceleration ◽

The United States ◽

Head Impact ◽

Rotational Acceleration ◽

Impact Location ◽

Injury Mechanisms ◽

The Mean ◽

Impact Data

Approximately 1.1–1.9 million sport-related concussions among athletes ≤18 years of age occur annually in the United States, but there is limited understanding of the biomechanics and injury mechanisms associated with concussions among lower level football athletes. Therefore, the objective of this study was to combine biomechanical head impact data with video analysis to characterize youth and HS football concussion injury mechanisms. Head impact data were collected from athletes participating on 22 youth and 6 HS football teams between 2012 and 2017. Video was recorded, and head impact data were collected during all practices and games by instrumenting players with the Head Impact Telemetry (HIT) System. For each clinically diagnosed concussion, a video abstraction form was completed, which included questions concerning the context in which the injury occurred. Linear acceleration, rotational acceleration, and impact location were used to characterize the concussive event and each injured athlete's head impact exposure on the day of the concussion. A total of 9 (5 HS and 4 youth) concussions with biomechanics and video of the event were included in this study. The mean [range] linear and rotational acceleration of the concussive impacts were 62.9 [29.3–118.4] g and 3,056.7 [1,046.8–6,954.6] rad/s2, respectively. Concussive impacts were the highest magnitude impacts for 6 players and in the top quartile of impacts for 3 players on the day of injury. Concussions occurred in both practices (N = 4) and games (N = 5). The most common injury contact surface was helmet-to-helmet (N = 5), followed by helmet-to-ground (N = 3) and helmet-to-body (N = 1). All injuries occurred during player-to-player contact scenarios, including tackling (N = 4), blocking (N = 4), and collision with other players (N = 1). The biomechanics and injury mechanisms of concussions varied among athletes in our study; however, concussive impacts were among the highest severity for each player and all concussions occurred as a result of player-to-player contact.

Download Full-text

The Hammer and the Nail: Biomechanics of Striking and Struck Canadian University Football Players

Annals of Biomedical Engineering ◽

10.1007/s10439-021-02773-4 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jeffrey S. Brooks ◽

Adam Redgrift ◽

Allen A. Champagne ◽

James P. Dickey

Keyword(s):

College Football ◽

Head Impact ◽

Football Players ◽

Video Footage ◽

Impact Location ◽

Rule Changes ◽

Left And Right ◽

The Brain

AbstractThis study sought to evaluate head accelerations in both players involved in a football collision. Players on two opposing Canadian university teams were equipped with helmet mounted sensors during one game per season, for two consecutive seasons. A total of 276 collisions between 58 instrumented players were identified via video and cross-referenced with sensor timestamps. Player involvement (striking and struck), impact type (block or tackle), head impact location (front, back, left and right), and play type were recorded from video footage. While struck players did not experience significantly different linear or rotational accelerations between any play types, striking players had the highest linear and rotational head accelerations during kickoff plays (p ≤ .03). Striking players also experienced greater linear and rotational head accelerations than struck players during kickoff plays (p = .001). However, struck players experienced greater linear and rotational accelerations than striking players during kick return plays (p ≤ .008). Other studies have established that the more severe the head impact, the greater risk for injury to the brain. This paper’s results highlight that kickoff play rule changes, as implemented in American college football, would decrease head impact exposure of Canadian university football athletes and make the game safer.

Download Full-text