Approximately 40,000 high school football players get a concussion every year in the United States, but contrary to equipment manufacturers’ claims to lessen impact forces associated with sport related concussions (SRC), the specific brand of helmet and helmet age were not associated with lower risk of concussion, says Timothy McGuine, PhD, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, and colleagues.
“According to our research, lower risks of sustaining a sports-related concussion (SRC) and its severity were not improved based on a specific manufacturer. In addition, the SRC rates were similar for players wearing new helmets, as compared to those wearing older ones,” commented McGuine. There is limited data detailing how specific types of football helmets and mouth guards affect the incidence and severity of SRC in players participating on high school football football teams. “It is also interesting to note, that players who wore a generic mouth guard provided by the school had a lower rate of SRC compared to players with more expensive mouth guards,” added McGuine.
Researchers collected data by Licensed Athletic Trainers (ATCs) at 36 public and private high schools in Wisconsin during the 2012 high school football season. A sample of 1,332 players were enrolled in the study with 251 (19%) individuals having reported at least 1 SRC within the last 6 years, and 171 (13%) players reporting 1 SRC within the previous 12 months. At each school the licensed athletic trainers recorded the brand, model, and purchase year of the helmets. They also recorded the type of mouth guard utilized (eg, generic, specialized or custom fit). Licensed athletic trainers also recorded the number and type of exposure (practice vs game) and the number of SRCs sustained. There were 115 (8.6%) players of the 1,332 that sustained 116 SRCs.
“Increased risk of concussions in our study was not associated with age, body mass index (BMI), grade in school, level of competition, or years of football experience. However, players with a history of SRC were twice as likely to sustain another one compared to players without a history. Additional screening to identify those players with increased concussion risk is a key to prevention and hopefully will help reduce rates in the future,” noted McGuine.