1. Operational Definitions
An Examination of Concussion Injury Rates in Various Models of Football Helmets in NCAA Athletes Ryan Moran MS, ATC Tracey Covassin PhD, ATC Michigan State University Department of Kinesiology Sport Concussion Laboratory
Introduction
Methods
Results continued
2,107 NCAA football athletes from 7 Universities
Mean age- 20 years old
Mean height- 6’ 1”
Mean weight- 225 lbs.
209 total concussion
1.6 and 3.8 million sport-related concussions occur each year in the United States1
Newer, advanced football helmets have been designed with the intentions of decreasing concussions
Changes in tackling rules and helmet improvements reduced traumatic brain injuries in the 20th century2
Very little literature exists comparing the concussion rates between football helmet models
Most research has focused on helmet impacts and high school athletes
Used data collected and input into the Sports Injury Monitoring System (SIMS) between
Recruitment letters sent to Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) using SIMS
ATCs obtained helmet models from Equipment Managers
Data collected included: height, weight, position, helmet model, season of concussion (if occurred)
Operational Definitions
Athlete exposure (AE): One athlete participating in at least one play of one game or practice, where the athlete is exposed to the possibility of sustaining an injury3
Injury Rate (IR): statistical measure describing the number of injuries that occur in a defined number of people
IR formula:[# of Athletes] x [# of pracs. + games] = Athlete Exposure; [# concussions per helmet] / [Σ AE per helmet] x 10,000 = Calculated Injury Rate per 10,000 AE
Concussions by Position
Position
# of Concussions
Offensive Line 36
Linebacker 34
Wide Receiver 30
Defensive Backs 29
Defensive Line 26
Running Backs 25
Tight End 13
Quarterback 9
N/A 7
Objectives
Discussion
First recent study to measure injury rates amongst newer, advanced football helmets in collegiate football athletes
No difference in injury rates for concussions between newer, advanced helmets
Significant difference between newer, advanced helmets and older, traditional helmet
At this point helmets have not been found to reduce concussions
Strides are being made from equipment and clinical standpoints
To examine concussion injury rates in various models of football helmets in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football players
Research Questions
Which football helmet model will have the highest concussion rate?
Which football helmet model will have the lowest concussion rate?
Will the newer, advanced helmet models be better at reducing the likelihood of concussions as compared to the older, traditional helmet model?
Results
References
Langlois, JA, Rutland-Brown, W, Wald, MM. (2006). The epidemiology and impact of traumatic bran injury: a brief overview. Journal of Head Trauma and Rehabilitation, 21(5),
Levy, ML, Ozgur, BM, Berry, C, Aryan HE, Apuzzo, MJ (2004). Analysis and evolution of head injury in football. Neurosurgery, 55(3),
Dick, R, Agel, J, Marshall SW. (2007). National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System commentaries: introduction and methods. Journal of Athletic Training, 42(2),
Chi Square statistic: 2.718; p-value: 0.743
All helmets: p < .001 via Poisson Regression comparing new
models to traditional model