Citation

Karton C, Blaine Hoshizaki T, Gilchrist MD. Sci. Rep. 2020; 10(1): e1200.

Affiliation

University College Dublin, School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Belfield, Dublin, 4, Ireland.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1038/s41598-019-54874-9

PMID

31992719

Abstract

American-style football participation poses a high risk of repetitive head impact (RHI) exposure leading to acute and chronic brain injury. The complex nature of symptom expression, human predisposition, and neurological consequences of RHI limits our understanding of what constitutes as an injurious impact affecting the integrity of brain tissue. Video footage of professional football games was reviewed and documentation made of all head contact. Frequency of impact, tissue strain magnitude, and time interval between impacts was used to quantify RHI exposure, specific to player field position. Differences in exposure characteristics were found between eight different positions; where three unique profiles can be observed. Exposure profiles provide interpretation of the relationship between the traumatic event(s) and how tissue injury is manifested and expressed. This study illustrates and captures an objective measurement of RHI on the field, a critical component in guiding public policy and guidelines for managing exposure.

Keywords: American football

Language: en