How Science Fixes Football
Last week, I came across a video on Twitter that completely shook me. It was a compilation of NFL hits, some clips show professional athletes getting hit so hard that they get knocked out. The reactions on Twitter were mixed. Some people were nostalgic about how those were the glory days of football; while others were appalled that this was still the nation’s most popular sport and wondered why kids are subjecting themselves to this kind of brutality.
This post isn’t an appeal to end violent contact sports; I think there is a deep primal satisfaction about taking your opponent to the ground or breaking though their attempt to stop you, but that doesn’t mean we should disregard the health of all athletes. Bones heal, surgery repairs ligaments, but there’s no medicine for treating brain trauma. By applying modern technology, such as artificial intelligence and active monitoring, we can determine the best methods for concussion prevention — making the game safer for everyone.
As a Rugby player myself, I have had my fair share of concussions and the complete disregard for fellow players’ well-being in the video infuriated me. Despite the two players being opponents in the game, at the end of the day they’re on the same team — they both share a love for the sport which they want to continue playing. Specifically for professional athletes, the sport is their livelihood, and keeping other players healthy is mutually beneficial since increased competition results in better ratings and therefore better paying contracts. However, last season, concussions in the NFL were at a 6 year high, but that’s just the low estimate. Vox found that more than 80% of all football concussions go unreported, increasing the risk of serious brain damage if play continues.
Concussions
From personal experience, having a concussion is miserable. I couldn’t think, I couldn’t sleep, I wasn’t hungry, my head constantly ached, and I was super moody. At the time of the concussion I was working as a software engineering intern, my work depended on strong critical thinking skills and because of my injury I was essentially useless for an entire week. 80–90% of concussion symptoms are alleviated within a week, but more severe cases and those with previous concussions could take up to four weeks.
Concussions not only affect Student-athlete’s play time, but missing class during recovery can negatively impact their GPA and the long-term symptoms may diminish overall cognitive performance. It’s evident that concussion prevention and detection are major issues facing athletes’ health. Luckily, there are projects attempting to determine what actions lead to a concussion and better diagnosing someone with a concussion.
Research
Emily Kieffer, a Graduate Research Assistant and PhD student at Virginia Tech, is conducting a study with Virginia Tech Helmet Lab that focuses on measuring and characterizing the differences in biomechanical forces causing concussion between sexes, specifically in rugby players, with intent of reducing sports related concussions and head injuries. The rugby players wear mouthguards fitted with accelerometers during contact practice and games while the researchers film the action. To analyze the data, the film is synchronized with the corresponding force readings from the mouthguard. They can’t say for certain when a concussion occurs, but the study hopes to show how to reduce risks and recognize significant impacts in order to make the game safer.
Brightlamp, a startup out of Purdue University, is developing a mobile application that uses artificial intelligence to diagnose a potential concussion. The company claims the app can diagnose a concussion with 98% accuracy and within 5 seconds. Although the app isn’t FDA approved, it can potentially be useful in concussion detection in the future.
If a player receives a questionable hit, it’s imperative to quickly and objectively determine if they sustained any brain trauma to avoid a more serious injury. Also, by identifying events that are more likely to result in concussions, the sport’s rules can be modified to reduce the likelihood of those situations occurring.
Rule Changes
Tackling rules greatly differ rugby and American football. Most notably, rugby players aren’t allowed to wear pads or hard helmets, which on the surface may seem like rugby is more dangerous, but since both players are unprotected it leads to better form tackles.
Other rugby laws that protect the player include:
- A player must not tackle an opponent early, late or dangerously. Dangerous tackling includes, but is not limited to, tackling or attempting to tackle an opponent above the line of the shoulders even if the tackle starts below the line of the shoulders.
- A player must not charge or knock down an opponent carrying the ball without attempting to grasp that player.
- A player must not tackle, charge, pull, push or grasp an opponent whose feet are off the ground.
- A player must not lift an opponent off the ground and drop or drive that player so that their head and/or upper body make contact with the ground.
In contrast, football tackles where the tackler hits the opponent high, dumps the opponent on his head, tackles without wrapping, or tackling in the air are considered dangerous. Recently, the NFL has cracked down on helmet to helmet contact, but apparently it wasn’t enough to avoid concussions. Adopting safer tackling rules in American football could result in less head injuries and overall healthier athletes.