New Head-Injury Research Drives a Revolution in Football Helmet Technology

Four Years of Research and Development Helps Create a New Helmet Designed With The Intent of Reducing the Risk of Concussion

As NFL training camps begin and more than 1.2 million high school students(1) gear-up for summer football practices, the question of injury is again top-of-mind with coaches, players and parents. But some good news from the football equipment industry may help parents and coaches sleep easier at night.

A new study, partially funded by NFL Charities, has found that most on- the-field concussions -- widely considered one of the most serious and misunderstood of the contact sports injuries -- are caused by impacts to the side of the head, not the front or top, as previously believed(2). Based on this new insight, a leading helmet manufacturer is taking an innovative approach to help prevent one of the game's most dangerous injuries.

Riddell is introducing a new football helmet called the Revolution(TM), a first-of-its-kind helmet using new technology with the intent of reducing the risk of concussion. This computer designed helmet marks the first significant structural change in a player's headgear in nearly 25 years. The helmet will be available for NFL, college, high school and youth league athletes.

"We turned to science to design our new Revolution helmet, which took more than four years to develop and produce," said Bill Sherman, CEO of Riddell, which is the official helmet of the NFL. "It represents the next generation of football helmets -- a sleek-looking design built with protection in mind. NFL trainers, equipment managers, coaches and players are all talking about it, but we're really excited about the opportunity to offer this new helmet to players from the college ranks on down."

Football appears to have taken the lead over baseball as the all-American sport, attracting more than 1.2 million players at the high school level. But as with all contact sports, knocking heads is part of the rough and tumble action of a football game -- which can lead to concussion. An ongoing study estimates that football causes nearly 100,000 concussions each year, with 40,000 attributed to the high school level(3). Few injuries can sideline an otherwise healthy athlete faster than a concussion.

A Revolutionary Change

The design of the Revolution helmet is based on the findings of a long- term study of professional football players conducted by Biokinetics & Associates, an independent engineering consulting firm, and several universities. The research revealed that of all the hits that resulted in a concussion, nearly 70 percent were to the side, face or jaw area.

The new Revolution helmet includes innovative features specifically designed to help reduce the risk of concussion. The Tru-Curve(TM) protective shell extends to the jaw area and has been computer designed around the head's center of gravity to offer superior front-to-back fit and stability. The new Z-pad design provides protection to the side of the head and the jaw -- helping to lessen the energy of impact on these areas if a collision occurs. The patented VSR Air-Fit(TM) System features padding that can inflate to offer a custom fit to every player's head shape.

With the Revolution, Riddell has increased the distance from the helmet shell to the player's head - allowing for greater room to manage the types of hits that can cause concussion. The Isolator(TM) faceguard system is designed to isolate the attachment points of the faceguard from the shell - reducing jarring to the player from low-level impacts to the faceguard. Riddell maintains its commitment to producing a lightweight product without compromising protection.

Research-Based Protection

Learning more about the "hows and whys" of concussion led Riddell to this current model. Scientists from Biokinetics & Associates analyzed videotapes of football field head collisions to determine the details of motion and contact. These same conditions were re-created in the lab, where special sensors inside helmeted crash dummy heads measured the impact forces.

"Our study helped demonstrate how head traumas really happen, which provided the industry with new insight," said Dr. James Newman of Biokinetics & Associates. "We helped correct some misconceptions about concussion and demonstrated that impacts to the side of the head have more significance in causing concussions than impacts taken on top. Additionally, rotational forces seem to play a big role in the biomechanics of concussion. While no helmet can fully prevent concussion, we hope this new research will bring us one step closer in reducing the number of concussions players suffer on the field."

Riddell is making the new research available to other helmet manufacturers in the hopes that more companies will adapt this new technology to help reduce the rate of concussions.

Repercussions of Concussion

Football is a contact sport and concussions have always been a risk of the game. If there's a significant impact to the head, the brain moves about freely inside the skull -- bumping against the bone, which can stretch, twist and potentially break the nerve cell fibers and blood vessels in the brain. There are varying degrees of concussion, with the most serious involving a loss of consciousness.

While the professionals are bigger, stronger and collide with greater impact, younger players are at an equal -- if not greater risk. Some research suggests that children and teenagers may be more likely to suffer from prolonged brain swelling following a concussion(4). Therefore, high-school athletes may have a slower recovery than college-aged or older athletes and may be more susceptible to complications.

Symptoms, which depend on the severity of the concussion, can include headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, confusion, blurred vision, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), double vision and loss of consciousness -- although most of the time a player is not knocked out cold. Repeated and severe concussions may result in long-term effects, such as memory loss and other neurological problems, experts warn.

The Revolution Begins

The Revolution has already made its debut on football's biggest stage. During last year's Super Bowl XXXVI, players were offered the chance to wear the new helmet for the first time and St. Louis Rams fullback James Hodgins became the first player to don the Revolution. During the upcoming season, all NFL players will have the option of taking advantage of this new technology. Riddell's Revolution will also have a significant presence at the college and high school levels, where more and more teams are expected to make it a part of their standard uniform.

Parents of football players should ask their coach or athletic director about the type of helmet that's currently used by their team. To learn more about the new Revolution helmet, call 1-800-275-5338 or log on to www.riddell.com . To find out more about sports-related concussion -- including the symptoms, myths about brain injury and the potential long-term effects -- parents can contact the Brain Injury Association at www.biausa.org or the American Academy of Neurology at www.aan.com.