The new information could lead to better guidelines for evaluating head injuries and deciding a player's status, said Kevin Guskiewicz, Ph.D., chair of the department of exercise and sport science in UNC's College of Arts and Sciences.
It might also lead to a better understanding of brain injuries from other trauma, or perhaps of diseases such as mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer's which have been linked to recurrent concussion in professional football players, he said in the December issue of Neurosurgery.
High-tech helmets worn by some University of North Carolina football players over the 2004 to 2006 seasons yielded new data that challenges conventional theories about these mild traumatic brain injuries.
It shows that in football, a hit can easily jerk the head, for milliseconds, at 50g, or 50 times the force of gravity. Hits above 100g are common; a forces above 75g would likely result in a concussion.
