Safety Equipment may not Reduce Risk of CTE in Football Players

Protective equipment does not protect against developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) in youth football players. CTE leads to cognitive decline from repeated head impacts (RHIs), which are subclinical concussions. The article discusses evidence on Dr. David Camarillo’s padded helmet test and on field impact test using instrumented mouthguards. Data from these experiments provided convincing evidence that head impacts that did not lead to concussion symptoms contributed to CTE.

Erikson (2023) discusses why protective equipment fails to prevent CTE in football players. Football players who have experienced migraines from head-banging did not benefit from padding the outside of the helmet. It did not soften the blows, and the migraines continued to be painful. CTE in football players causes cognitive and mental decline due to repeated impacts on the head, and protective equipment, does not protect against the blows on the football field that do not lead to concussions.

Camarillo’s Padded Helmet Test in the Lab

Dr. David Camarillo, possessing multidisciplinary knowledge of bioengineering, neurosurgery, biophysics, mechanical engineering, biodesign innovation, and aerospace engineering tested a padded helmet using a crash test with a dummy head using motion sensors on the head. They then pounded the head at different speeds and angles using a battering device to measure the force of blows. Experts executed several experiments with different helmets, temperatures, and force of blows.

They observed that the soft cap that shifted like a loose wig over the helmet provided 15% to 20% more protection when compared to blows with just the helmet. However, some impacts became more dangerous because of the cap. Researchers also observed that the cap provided more protection during angular rotation of the head in an impact, which they attributed to the sliding of the cap along the surface of the helmet, that caused a redirection in some of the impact energy when the impact was received at the right angle.

Camarillo’s On Field Impact Test with Mouthguards

Experts tested their laboratory findings in a real environment to find out how well new data matched the findings collected in the ideal environment. This time, they fitted mouthguards with the same motion sensor technology. They carried out the experiment on five players during a practice season when they did not wear a cap, and then on five players when they wore the cap. In their video recording, researchers identified 97 head-to-head collisions, which they matched to the sensor data from the mouthguards. The cap did not seem to provide protection against the blows.

Researchers concluded that the head impact in the absence of a concussion contributed to CTE. The results indicated data for adult football players, and the helmet seemed to offer some protection in certain scenarios. However, their study had limitations, in that they used only one type of helmet on a small sample of ten players. Experts noted that the experiment may yield different results for adolescent and youth players.

References

Erickson, M. (2023). Padded helmet cover shows little protection for football players. Scope. https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2023/03/28/padded-helmet-cover-shows-little-protection-for-football-players/