For youth athletes or college football players in San Diego County, it is important to understand the potentially hazardous effects of enduring a hit to the head during practice or play. A sports-related concussion can lead to long-term consequences, and may impact the likelihood of the player developing chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) later in life. While we know that mild traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) like concussions can have serious effects, we still do not know precisely how a hit to the head impacts a player’s brain at the time of the hit. However, according to a recent article in The New York Times, a newly developed mouth guard with motion sensors may help to clarify the process of sustaining a concussion.

What Happens to a Brain After a Hit to the Head?

As the article clarifies, the information researchers have used primarily in determining what happens to a brain during a hit to the head has been acquired through helmets that have sensors in them. However, this technique has proven to be somewhat problematic because “the helmet can move independently of the skull.” According to Dr. Robert Cantu, a clinical professor of neurosurgery at Boston University’s School of Medicine, “the forces you’re measuring with those are not really exactly what the brain is seeing.” As such there was an urgent need to develop a new kind of technology that could more accurately record the effects of a hit to the head on a player’s skull.

To address this need, David Camarillo, a bioengineer at Stanford University, developed a mouth guard with motion sensors along with his research team at the Cam Lab. Camarillo and other researchers “have speculated that the most damaging blows are those that cause the head to snap quickly from ear to ear . . . or those that cause a violent rotation or twisting of the head through a glancing blow.” Since the wiring of the brain runs, in effect, from left to ride instead of front to back, the direction in which a player is struck in the head can have dramatically different consequences. According to Camarillo, “in football, the presence of the face mask can make that sort of twisting even more extreme.”

Current Helmets Do Not Adequately Protect Football Players

The data from the mouth guard sensors was used to demonstrate what happens to a football player’s brain when taking a hit to the head from the side—the more damaging of the types of hits a player can sustain. The researchers found that a “wave-like stretching throughout the brain’s tissue” occurred, and that “the tissue continued to stretch throughout the brain even in the moments after impact.” And even less-invasive hits that do not concuss the player can, over time, contribute to serious damage to the brain.

What does this research mean in the short term? In short, the way in which football helmets currently are constructed is insufficient to protect the brain from concussions and CTE. As Camarillo explains, he and his research team hope that, with additional research, helmet design will change to better protect players.

Contact a San Diego Personal Injury Attorney

At the Walton Law Firm, we are committed to helping San Diego County residents who have sustained brain injuries. An experienced brain injury lawyer in San Diego can speak with you about your case today. Contact us for more information about our services.

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(image courtesy of Ed Yourdon)

How is the NFL handling increasing pressure to take preventive measures when it comes to sports-related concussions that occur with surprising frequency in professional football? According to a recent article from CNBC, the NFL “believes one of the best ways to ensure the longevity of its sports—as well as all sports—is to make sure athletes are equipped with the latest and most advanced technologies to prevent traumatic brain injuries.” In other words, the NFL’s answer to sports safety advocates is that we need more science and better technological innovations to keep players from sustaining life-threatening head trauma. The answer to concussion concerns, the league suggests, is not an end to the game of football.

New Technology and the Head Health Challenge Last year the NFL along with GE and Under Armour sponsored a “Head Health Challenge,” which gave researchers an opportunity to “invent ways to improve safety in sports by helping to prevent head injuries.” This year the NFL partnered with GE and Under Armour for the second year of competition. According to Jeff Miller, the NFL Senior Vice President of Health and Safety Policy, the Head Health Challenge II emphasizes the league’s commitment to keeping players on the field safely by applying new technologies and scientific innovations to head-injury prevention.

The competition, as the article points out, is one portion of the Head Health Initiative—a $60 million plan that was initiated in 2013 by both the NFL and its partner, GE, to “advance diagnosis and treatment of concussions.” Researchers who have invested time and energy into the project contend that it is not only about football-related concussions, or sports-related head traumas altogether. GE’s director of community and government strategy contended that the Head Health Initiative may be able to help us understand the relationship between traumatic brain injuries (TBIs) and degenerative conditions such as ALS, Parkinson’s disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.

Focus on Science with Release of Concussion Film As CNBC notes, the NFL’s continued emphasis on scientific innovation with regard to TBI prevention coincides with the release of the film Concussion. The film traces the medical discovery of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) and its link to sports-related concussions. NFL officials have indicated that the film will serve to raise more awareness about head injuries in football, which will hopefully result in continued scientific research into injury prevention methods.

As researchers continue to make new discoveries about the long-term risks of concussions, players and their families will be in a better and more informed position about whether or not they are willing to take those risks by participating in the sport.

Examples of new technologies developed through the Head Health Initiative that could help to limit concussions include but are not limited to:

• New helmets that “protect against fractures and concussions”;
• Protective turf underlayers; and
• Rate-dependent tethers that prevent the head from “snapping or whipping when a high-speed, high-force event occurs.”

In the meantime, athletes continue to be at risk of serious TBIs and long-term health risks as a result of multiple concussions. If you or someone you love suffered concussions while playing football, you should discuss your case with an experienced San Diego brain injury attorney. Do not hesitate to contact the Walton Law Firm to find out more about how we can help you.

See Related Blog Posts: New Report on Football-Related Brain Injuries and CTE Helmet Could Have Prevented Teen’s Brain Injury