Tackles, Tech, and TBI
A Look at What the NFL and Others Are Doing to Combat Concussions
A total of 242 million Americans—80% of those six years or older—participated in some form of sport or fitness activity in 2023. According to the University of Michigan Health, there were 3.8 million sports-related concussions that year. The CDC also reports that “5-10% of athletes will experience a concussion in any given sports season.” Alarmingly, five out of ten concussions go unreported, meaning athletes may be suffering brain injuries without even knowing it.
Concussions, a form of traumatic brain injury (TBI), can significantly impact an athlete’s mental and physical well-being. However, professional sports leagues, like the NFL, are taking steps to address this issue by introducing safety protocols such as the Guardian Cap—a technological innovation designed to lower the rate of concussions players experience. Other advancements are emerging, too, as part of the wider effort to protect athletes’ long-term health.
A TBI occurs when a blow, jolt, or penetrating injury disrupts the normal function of the brain. Concussions, a common type of TBI, frequently occur in contact and non-contact sports alike and can have drastic effects on a person’s mind and body. According to NationWideChildren.com, “Sports-related concussions often result in mental and physical symptoms (e.g., inability to concentrate, forgetfulness, headache, fatigue, dizziness).” For many athletes, these symptoms disappear within about 10 days, but for others, they may last for months or even longer.
In response to growing concerns over player safety, the NFL unveiled the Guardian Cap in 2022. As described on Guardian’s website, it is “a soft-shell padding that attaches to the outside of a football helmet to help reduce the impact of collisions.” In 2023, the NFL made the caps mandatory for players in high-collision position groups. The only positions exempt from the requirement are kickers, punters, quarterbacks, wide receivers, and defensive backs. The result? The 2023 preseason saw the lowest number of concussions recorded since the NFL began tracking concussion data in 2015.
NFL Chief Medical Officer Dr. Allen Sills commented on the impact: “It’s safe to say Guardian Caps have been an unqualified success for the NFL since we introduced them. The reason I would say it’s an unqualified success is that they’ve driven a significant reduction in concussions in practices.” This success has had a ripple effect on high school football programs. In Maine, for instance, CentralMaine.com reports that “at least 16 of the 79-varsity high school football teams—about 20%—are using the Guardian Caps in practice,” compared to just three teams two years ago.
But the Guardian Cap is not the only innovation making waves in the fight against concussions. UC San Francisco researchers have developed a headset that can help determine when athletes are truly ready to return to play after a head injury. While the device is not yet FDA-approved, early trials in Australian Rules Football have shown that relying solely on symptom resolution is not enough. UCSF reports that “on average, the changes detected by the headset lasted 12 days longer than the players’ symptoms.” This highlights the potential dangers of allowing athletes to return to play too soon, even when they feel symptom-free. Cathra Halabi, MD, of UCSF’s Department of Neurology and the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, adds, “This raises concern about relying on symptoms for return-to-play decisions. Delays could be recommended for those symptom-free athletes if head pulse abnormalities persist.”
While concussions are still a major concern in the world of sports, the NFL and other organizations are proving that there are ways to mitigate the risks. Innovations like the Guardian Cap and new diagnostic tools offer hope for reducing brain injuries and ensuring athletes’ long-term well-being. As awareness continues to grow and technology advances, the future of sports could be safer for players at all levels, both on and off the field.
Written by Sean Cain, M.Ed, M.A.T.
SC Department of Disabilities and Special Needs