High School Football Concussions: Often a Matter of Helmet Adjustment

Newswise — Thousands of young football players returning to the gridiron this season will receive concussions—simply because their helmets are not properly fitted. Eugene Hong, M.D., chairman of the department of family medicine and chief of the division of sports medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, recently studied the relationship between football helmet fitting techniques and concussions in high school athletes. He says many of the head injuries young players receive are preventable and can often be attributed to a helmet's improper fit.

Dr. Hong presented his findings at the American College of Sports Medicine's annual meeting in June, and will publish them this fall in the ACSM's journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

"While professional and college teams have people trained in how to properly fit an athlete with a helmet, most high school and youth programs do not," he says. "Unfortunately, that leaves a lot of young athletes without proper head protection to avoid a potentially serious injury."

According to the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), 300,000 sports-and recreation-related concussions are diagnosed nationwide each year. However, the ACSM estimates that the actual number of concussions is seven times more, because it is believed that 85 percent of concussions typically go undiagnosed.

A concussion is a temporary loss of awareness or consciousness caused by a blow to the head. Severe blows may result in bleeding in the head or permanent damage to nerves. Most concussions are mild and most people recover fully, but the healing process often takes time and adequate rest is needed.

To help prevent concussions in football players, Dr. Hong recommends a quick 10-step process to make sure a helmet is properly fitted. His research found that athletic trainers are often better at fitting helmets than coaches--however, he says anyone, including parents, can be taught the technique. In Hong's study, the most commonly missed helmet-fitting techniques by coaches included misjudgments on placement from facemask-to-nose, helmet-above-eyebrow, and chin-strap distance apart.

He says parents should be sure their young athlete takes to the football field protected with a properly fitting helmet.