How to prevent concussions in football? Better helmets
UC engineer investigates ways to improve helmet designs to protect players
Football helmets made by four leading manufacturers showed vulnerabilities in tests designed to better understand player concussions, according to a new study.
University of Cincinnati engineers put popular football helmets made by leading brands through impact testing and found that no single design demonstrated superior reduction of potential concussion incidence or consistent energy absorption at every part of the helmet.
Concussions from football are a health concern across all age groups from youth sports to professional leagues.
The NFL saw a dramatic increase in concussions during the 2022 season. Concussions were up 18% over the previous season, including high-profile players such as Cincinnati Bengals’ receiver Tee Higgins and running back Joe Mixon.
“We’re not trying to get kids to stop playing football,” said Eric Nauman, a professor of biomedical engineering in UC’s College of Engineering and Applied Science. “We just want them to be able to play without suffering long-term consequences.”
The study was published in the Journal of Biomechanical Engineering.
The study was led by Nauman’s former students at Purdue University Kevin McIver and Patrick Lee along with UC’s Sean Bucherl.
Researchers tested three helmets from each of nine models made by four companies.
“We came up with a test on our own based on some military projects we’ve done,” Nauman said. “We can quantify exactly how much of the impact gets attenuated by the helmet.”
They measured the mass of each helmet, an important consideration in determining how much force is applied during a hard tackle or impact with the ground.
Each helmet was fit per manufacturer’s instructions onto a dummy similar to the kind used in automotive crash testing. The dummy contains sensors called accelerometers that measure how fast the head moves upon impact.
Using an instrument called a modal hammer that contains sophisticated sensors to measure applied force accurately, researchers delivered 20 blows by hand at seven impact points around the dummy’s bare head and its head while wearing each of the 27 helmets.
We’re not trying to get kids to stop playing football. We just want them to be able to play without suffering long-term consequences.
Eric Nauman UC biomedical engineering professor
By measuring force applied to the dummy with and without the helmets, researchers were able to single out the strengths of each helmet design at each impact point. All four brands scored highest in minimizing impact in at least one of the impact points measured.
Helmets were able to mitigate between 52% and 83% of the translational acceleration — or change in velocity — researchers measured in the hammer strikes. The back of the helmets fared worst in testing, reducing less than half the rotational acceleration of hammer strikes.
“None of the helmets was uniformly good or uniformly bad, except on the back of the helmet where they were all uniformly bad,” Nauman said. “We didn’t expect the helmets would be so bad in that one place.”
Several well-known NFL players, including Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, sustained concussions when the back of their head hit the turf.
Researchers noted that lab tests alone are insufficient in determining what level of mitigation provides the best protection for particular athletes. They suggested field-based impact tracking in combination with lab tests could be more useful in future assessments.
Once the force ranges are better characterized, the shell and padding can be designed to maximize energy absorption and reduce the majority of unrestricted or sudden head movements, researchers said.
Nauman said helmet padding that provides more absorption from impacts might offer better protection from concussions than a more rigid type. Likewise, he said some of the more flexible helmet shells improved energy absorption from the repetitive hits typical of football.
“There are a lot of ways to fix it,” Nauman said. “The helmets are generally designed to withstand the maximum possible impact. But that’s a 99th percentile type of hit. If you can design a helmet to protect players from the smaller, more typical hits, that would be ideal.”
Nauman said even modest design changes could have profound benefits for players.
“Our audience is mostly high school or under — the 98 percent of players who don’t play after high school,” Nauman said. “If we can keep them safer through high school, that would be great.”
Featured image at top: UC student Christopher Boles uses a modal hammer to strike a helmet. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Birthplace of Co-op
UC invented cooperative education more than 100 years ago and continues to create new opportunities for students through internships, service learning, virtual co-ops, community projects and industry partnerships. Learn more.
Related Stories
WOSU: Breast cancer screening and transgender patients
April 22, 2021
Dr. Annie Brown, assistant professor of radiology at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, discusses health disparities in the LGBTQ+ community and new breast cancer screening recommendations for transgender patients with WOSU-FM public radio.
UC Blue Ash event focuses on transgender inclusivity in health care
March 31, 2021
As health care providers take steps to provide an inclusive environment for all patients, it’s important to consider the needs of transgender and nonbinary people.
Vaccine distribution planned on UC campus
April 2, 2021
COVID-19 vaccine distribution planned for Ohio campuses
Knock blood shortages out of the park during the annual Reds Blood Drive at Hoxworth
June 9, 2021
Baseball season is back, and that means it’s time for Hoxworth Blood Center’s annual Cincinnati Reds blood drive!
Cincinnati Enquirer: Black doctors urge residents to vaccinate because 'goal is for all of us to stay alive'
May 7, 2021
In Ohio, 43 percent of the total population has started the COVID-19 vaccination, but just 23 percent of Black residents have gotten at least one shot. Hamilton County closely mirrors the state’s pace. A group of black physicians, including two University of Cincinnati faculty, have signed an open letter to the Greater Cincinnati Black community urging members to complete the COVID-19 vaccination.
UC neurosurgeon developing software to guide surgeons in the operating room
May 4, 2021
The North American Skull Base Society awards Norberto Andaluz, MD, for innovation and research.
Hoxworth Blood Center: Summer months are time for vacations, BBQs — and traumas
July 7, 2021
Save a life this summer when you give blood at your local Hoxworth Blood Center.
WCPO: When scholarships don't cover dental
July 19, 2021
UC Global Opportunity scholar Zedekia Samara is the benefactor of a local dentist's good will
Vaccine hesitant? UC study compares getting the shots and going without
August 11, 2021
Researchers at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine have developed a computerized decision analytic model to compare projected outcomes of three vaccine strategies: a patient opts for a messenger RNA vaccine, a patient decides to get an adenovirus vector vaccine or the patient simply forgoes a vaccine altogether.