PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 17-Feb-2014
Contact: Rachel Seroka
[email protected]
612-928-6129
American Academy of Neurology
How well do football helmets protect players
from concussions?
PHILADELPHIA – A new study finds that football helmets currently used on the field may do
little to protect against hits to the side of the head, or rotational force, an often dangerous
source of brain injury and encephalopathy. The study released today will be presented at the
American Academy of Neurology's 66th Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, April 26 to May 3,
2014.
"Protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for
young players, including elementary and middle school, high school and college athletes, whose
still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma," said study coauthor Frank Conidi, MD, DO, MS, director of the Florida Center for Headache and Sports
Neurology and Assistant Clinical Professor of Neurology at Florida State University College of
Medicine in Port Saint Lucie, Fla. Conidi is also the vice chair of the American Academy of
Neurology's Sports Neurology Section.
For the study, researchers modified the standard drop test system, approved by the National
Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, that tests impacts and helmet
safety. The researchers used a crash test dummy head and neck to simulate impact. Sensors
were also placed in the dummy's head to measure linear and rotational responses to repeated
12 mile-per-hour impacts. The scientists conducted 330 tests to measure how well 10 popular
football helmet designs protected against traumatic brain injury, including: Adams a2000,
Rawlings Quantum, Riddell 360, Riddell Revolution, Riddell Revolution Speed, Riddell VSR4,
Schutt Air Advantage, Schutt DNA Pro+, Xenith X1 and Xenith X2.
The study found that football helmets on average reduced the risk of traumatic brain injury by
only 20 percent compared to not wearing a helmet. Of the 10 helmet brands tested, the Adams
a2000 provided the best protection against concussion and the Schutt Air Advantage the worst.
Overall, the Riddell 360 provided the most protection against closed head injury and the Adams
a2000 the least, despite rating the best against concussion.
"Alarmingly, those that offered the least protection are among the most popular on the field,"
said Conidi. "Biomechanics researchers have long understood that rotational forces, not linear
forces, are responsible for serious brain damage including concussion, brain injury
complications and brain bleeds. Yet generations of football and other sports participants have
been under the assumption that their brains are protected by their investment in headwear
protection."
The study found that football helmets provided protection from linear impacts, or those leading
to bruising and skull fracture. Compared to tests using dummies with no helmets, leading
football helmets reduced the risk of skull fracture by 60 to 70 percent and reduced the risk of
focal brain tissue bruising by 70 to 80 percent.
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The study was supported by BRAINS, Inc., a research and development company based in San
Antonio, Fla., focused on biomechanics of traumatic brain injury.
To learn more about concussion, visit aan.com/concussion.
The American Academy of Neurology, an association of more than 27,000 neurologists and
neuroscience professionals, is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered
neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and
managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke,
migraine, multiple sclerosis, brain injury, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
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