Imagine several years after playing your favorite sport and progressively forgetting the simple stuff like your children’s names or even what you had for breakfast. Maybe you start to notice your attention isn’t what it once was and headaches are becoming a frequent burden. These could all be effects of undiagnosed brain injuries you suffered while taking devastating hits playing football or those headers you performed in soccer.
Even just one severe blow to the head that results in a concussion can lead to many mental health complications later on, such as Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy, or CTE. But this is where tech is trying to come into play to help protect against the possibility of an individual suffering a brain injury in sports.
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Recently, it has been reported that the teams making up the Ivy League Conference have agreed to stop player-on-player tackling during practices next season as concern about concussions continues to rise. However, even before the Ivy League coaches came together to discuss the issue, Dartmouth College had already been using a form of technology for players to perform their tackling safely.
A radio controlled tackling dummy, designed by four students from the school, has been wheeling around the Dartmouth practice field for the past couple of seasons. This mobile “humanoid” resembles an actual football player’s size and weight, while matching their speed. An article from the Dartmouth Engineering website states this $5,000 device is driven by omni wheels, which allow for sudden directional changes and extreme maneuverability. The students hope to add ability for preprogrammed routes and drills to be transmitted via Bluetooth in the near future.
As far as wearable equipment to prevent concussions, one example of a solution is the SpeedFlex football helmet by Riddell made its debut. One of many features included in it is the Flex System which uses a series of hinge clips to reduce impact force in different locations. Another is the Tru-Curve Liner System that conforms to the player’s head shape while fitting the contours of the helmet shell to provide a secure, snug fit.
In addition to the physical safety features, Riddell has introduced software capable of being placed inside the helmet. Riddell’s InSite Impact Response System is an impact monitoring device capable of sending an alert when a significant hit or series of hits has been taken to the head. This allows coaches and trainers to be more aware of when a player may have suffered a concussion and therefore allow them to take the appropriate action.
In soccer, Brandi Chastain, a star for the U.S. women’s’ national team, has been making headlines after she planned to donate her brain for further research into CTE. As reported by CNN, a 2013 study found that players who frequently headed the ball had brain abnormalities similar to people who suffered concussions.
One company specializing in protective headgear exclusively for soccer players is Full 90. All of their products utilize TruPlay Technology which is a patented combination of applied physics, design and engineering. ForceBloc Foam is a lightweight, polyethylene-made foam which doesn’t hinder a player’s ability to head the ball. Full90 also promotes their COOLMAX® System, a fabric that whisks away sweat while providing comfort thanks to its distinctive design.
Similar protective padding can be found under the hats of some professional baseball players. Major League Baseball has taken steps to prevent concussions in not just batters, but pitchers, too. In January 2014, MLB announced that it had approved a padded cap to protect pitchers from line drives. The caps are manufactured by New York-based 4Licensing Corporation subsidiary isoBlox.
Compared to the traditional ones, isoBlox caps are about a half-inch or so thicker in the front and an inch thicker on the sides of the temples. ESPN reported that these “plastic injection molded polymers combined with foam substrate” can absorb impacts up to 90 mph and 85 mph respectively.
So, as the number of technological innovations aimed at preventing concussions increases across sports, there just is no substitute for fully eliminating contact altogether like the Ivy League has done. Their decision could be a glimpse into the future of the sport of football and a sign that even the most advanced technologies won’t be able to take the danger out of the sport.