Field Goal

It’s a given that football players will get roughed up on the field. But how much is too much?

A recent study of retired NFL players shows they are four times as likely to die of a brain disorder like Alzheimer’s as those who didn’t play. And former players like ex–Redskins quarterback Mark Rypien who say they weren’t adequately protected on the gridiron have filed a class action against the league, putting the NFL on the defensive. Commissioner Roger Goodell has vowed to make the game safer; last year the league helped decrease concussions 40% by moving the kickoff from the 30-yard line to the 35-yard line. And the NFL is considering rules that would restrict linemen to a two-point stance (thus forcing them to be more upright and thereby avoid head collisions) and eliminate headfirst plays for running backs.

The real action, though, is in labs, where researchers are studying how head injuries happen during games and why “no one concussion is like the next,” says Dr. Richard Ellenbogen, co-chair of the NFL’s head, neck and spine committee. Here’s how that work could result in a much safer sport.

1 BETTER HEAD PROTECTION

At Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, researchers are collecting data from youth players wearing helmets equipped with sensors that can record the force and direction of a hit. This information will be paired with brain scans and cognitive tests of players taken at the beginning of the season and could ultimately be used to build better commercial helmets.

2 SMARTER INFO ABOUT WHEN TO BENCH

When dazed players come off the field, they generally can’t go back on if their hips sway more than 30 degrees while they’re standing (a sign of potential head injury). Doctors now just eyeball the distance, but Cleveland Clinic researchers are using iPad accelerometers and gyroscopes to make the measurement more accurate.

An iPad strapped to the waist helps measure movement

3 MORE-PROTECTIVE FACE GEAR

To gather more information on how the brain reacts to blows, scientists at Stanford University developed a mouthpiece embedded with sensors that can record the linear and rotational force of impacts and are often more accurate than sensors on helmets, which can shift during play.

Sources: Neurology; NFL; Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center; Cleveland Clinic; Stanford University