One of the underlying motifs in the concussion crisis prescribes to the cultural acceptance to play through pain or injury…
According to a study conducted by Harvard University and Boston University, just one in every 27 Football Championship Series players report having a diagnosed concussion last year, excluding head injuries like suspected concussions or dings. The ratio grew to 32-to-1 among offensive linemen that took the survey consisting of 730 total players across ten universities in seven states. This same group incurred 62 percent and 52 percent more of the suspected concussions and dings, respectively.
These alarming rates to underreport any kind of hit that could lead to brain trauma by NCAA players accentuates the problem to remain prevalent, especially its connection to the generally established attitude to intentionally play no matter what–regardless of the potential physical repercussions. There’s virtually a trend impelled by not completely comprehending the injury–in by itself as well as its extent–the machismo involved, and coaches not being too receptive of such issues as valid. The o-line, specifically in this case, suffer the most from these factors; not to mention their admission that they partake in far more full-contact practices than teammates in other positions.
Increased symptoms that transpire are headaches and dizziness. The sub-concussive and concussions state experienced by football players, thus, has correlated to neurologic impairment, while a series of them imparts chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among other potential diseases down the line.
Although this intel provides a tangible snapshot of the almost 80,000 playing collegiately, there’s 1.1 million high school football players on top of the three million in the youth level. A concussion is a network injury as much as anything else, which slows down the ability to process information. The side effects are not mutually exclusive based on age or competition. The underreported nature of these findings further stagnates and compounds the problem for a comprehensive approach to take form. Technology without big data and experts in the field to adequately address it leaves plenty of unanswered questions.
Lost in the newfound research and the sport’s ethos abyss lies, however, simpler precautionary measures: football helmet inflation.
Thomas Healy, Founder of Pittsburgh-based startup HeadSmart Labs, lives at the interchange of both of these worlds, being a graduate mechanical engineering student at Carnegie Mellon University as well as the school’s starting punter for the football team.
During last year’s training camp, he witnessed, firsthand, three of his teammates go down due to concussions on the first day contact was allowed. He had an epiphany on this hypothesis: if a user inflates a football helmet, as suggested by helmet manufacturers, then it will add an extra layer of protection when there’s a helmet collision. Plus, this procedure helps keep the helmet on the head.
Head Football Coach Rick Lackner listened to him and instructed the equipment managers to make sure each player inflates their helmet. The team didn’t experience any concussions for the subsequent four weeks thereafter.
“I want to be able to able to tell players that they should inflate their helmet to a specific PSI level. Similar to how your car manual tells you to inflate your tires to 32 PSI, for example,” Healy tells SportTechie as part of the original impetus for such testing.
Concurrently, HeadSmart Labs is working to develop the right number for each helmet in the marketplace that uses air inflation. They performed helmet drop tests that follow guidelines by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) on various helmet brands and their models this past summer, with the aim to figure out how inflation affects the dampening of impacts. NOCSAE tests are executed by placing the helmet onto a head form and then dropping it from varying heights. By doing so, it enables the simulation of different size impacts on helmets.
A key fact learned right from the outset: when comparing a helmet with no inflation versus one that’s adequately inflated, the latter one dampens the impact up to 30 percent better than the former.
In the midst of this testing process, though, some unexpected findings came to light. One Riddell 360 helmet had leaking air from its pads. This reality posed to be an issue since they couldn’t get the helmet to stay at the pressure necessary in order to continue conducting the testing accordingly. Apparently, the rest of their Riddell helmets also presented the same problem with them.
To determine whether these helmets, indeed, have a pervasive issue or just a coincidence, HeadSmart Labs went on to test over 100 air-bladder equipped football helmets from Rawlings, Schutt, and Riddell, of course, at the high school and collegiate levels, which featured brand new, never worn helmets as well as recently reconditioned ones. The employed test to validate the source of an air leak comprised of the following: a mild solution of dishwashing liquid soap and water sprayed on the valves soon after inflating the helmet to identify if air bubbles formed on the inflation valve.
Correspondingly, the helmets were inflated at first to 5 PSI; and then placed aside to let the air bladders expand and equalize for a minimum of ten minutes. They were reinflated again at 5 PSI, with the helmet resting for another 30 minutes after that. A secondary test is performed to verify previous data; and recheck if there were any air losses of a large degree in any of the pads based off the air pressure inside the helmet. And they tested the location of where the leak sprouted from, be it either the air valve or the pad, itself.
Healy demonstrates a visual example of the latter point in the testing through this video:
Over 50 percent of the Riddell-branded helmets were discovered to have air leaks.
Again, the primary attribute that created the loss in air pressure comes from leaky air valves on their helmets. Some minutes and hours later showed that these helmets lost a significant amount of air. Healy mentions that after they determined the absorption impact level to be greater than 30 percent for inflated helmets, it’s critical for safety purposes–it’s the very direction that the manufacturers, themselves, suggest users to achieve proper fit, no less. Players, for the most part, wear medium, large, or extra-large helmets to begin with. Inflation, indeed, stands as the way to make sure these products fit to each player’s head the right way.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission’s (CPSC) own pamphlet states, “an improperly-fitted helmet can place an athlete at greater risk of injury,” to enforce such practices.
“From our testing, HeadSmart Labs did not find any alarming rates of air leaks in other brands of helmets,” says Healy.
“We mainly saw air leaks in Riddell’s helmets where the air was leaking from the valve. If you look at other manufacturers, the design of their valves are very different from Riddell’s,” Healy continued in response to whether other helmet makers have a chance for diminished returns.
Having examined over 80 Riddell helmets, the statistical analysis and concern level are more than warranted since 30 is the typical sample size used. They, thus, hoped to conduct additional testing with teams, but they declined participation. Healy believes that these teams wouldn’t and don’t have an effective way to fix the issue, insofar as when their helmets are proven to be well below par by this scientific evidence.
The industry standard for testing a helmet remains as the NOCSAE-instructed drop test. While Healy acknowledges that it’s a good test, it does not simulate realistic impacts that occur in-game.
In spite of the current processes in place, HeadSmart Labs is taking the lead to develop a two-body structure that will better mimic the collisions that happen on a football field. This model will appear like two car crash dummies on a sliding rail system (see picture below). They would be able to alter the speeds along with the impact angles between the two bodies. It is this kind of protocol that would offer clearer insights on helmet performance when struck together and the kinds of hits that cause concussions.
For the time being, though, it’s worth noting that football players are not permitted to change or modify their helmets, or else it will completely void the manufacturer’s warranty. Healy strongly recommends these players, parents, and coaches to employ this simple test performed by HeadSmart Labs. The fact that it’s easy to execute, doesn’t require expensive equipment, and instantly shows results, this method emboldens users to be diligent with what they have. Prudent tackling techniques, like “Heads Up” as endorsed by USA Football, only further supports a safer playing environment, too.
“As more people and laboratories become involved with concussion research, it will only lead us closer and closer to having a better understanding of what is happening inside the brain when a player gets hit; and how can we best try to prevent this from happening,” affirms Healy.
HeadSmart Labs hopes to secure funding as a participant in NineSigma’s GE NFL Head Health Challenge, which would allow them to continue their research, such as the aforementioned car crash dummy test. Meanwhile, New York-based private equity firm Fenway Partners has not been able to find a buyer for Riddell, which generates almost $200 million in yearly sales, per New York Post. HeadSmart Labs has also filed a report of their findings to the CPSC for further investigation on the matter.
The cost of the after effects from a concussion certainly outweigh the simple practice of this helmet test–the inherent, systemic football culture and lack of accurate reporting notwithstanding.