Direct measures of cerebral tissue acceleration following an impact are not available at this time. Notably, the current technology used to measure these variables on the athletic field is recording the acceleration of the skull at the center of mass, which is presumed to be the acceleration of the cerebral tissue. Linear acceleration has been suggested by some to be the primary injury predictor others have indicated that rotational acceleration is the most important, and still others have suggested an equal role of both. While each may have a distinct influence on injury, there is no clear indication that one plays a bigger role in predicting concussion or concussion severity than the other. It is believed that linear acceleration is more directly involved in the compression of cerebral tissue following impact, whereas rotational acceleration is more related to shearing of the cerebral neurons. The F¼ma formula is used to calculate linear acceleration – change in velocity occurring in a straight line but an analogous equation (T¼Ia) is available to calculate rotational acceleration – change in angular velocity around a fixed point. Indeed, as the magnitude force from the striking player increases, the head acceleration of the struck player must increase as the mass of the head is fixed. When applied to athletics, or more specifically football, this equation presents the simplest conceptual quantification of a striking and struck player. Mathematically, Newton’s second law of motion states that a force (F) is equal to the mass (m) of an object multiplied by the acceleration (a) of that object (F¼ma). This concept is most easily explained using the Newtonian Laws of Motion. In general, it is not the velocity of the athlete or the force of impact that is being measured, but rather the change in velocity or acceleration of the cranium that is measured by helmet-based sensors. This review will focus on the application of recently developed helmet-based impact sensing technology in adolescent American football players.Ĭoncussions occur as a result of a direct or indirect force that is applied to the head that results in the sudden acceleration/deceleration of the brain. In addition, research utilizing these technologies has the potential to improve athletic equipment, thereby decreasing injury risk. That is, should researchers identify the appropriate magnitude for a set of biomechanical variables then athletes could be promptly removed from athletic participation following a blow to the head. With this methodology comes the possibility of real-time biomechanical based injury diagnostics and injury prevention. Novel technology is now available that permits the in-vivo tracking of all impacts to the head in helmeted sports. Whereas considerable research has focused on the acute effects of concussion and return-to-play decision-making, perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of concussion management is injury identification. This figure includes the estimated 50% of injuries that go unreported to medical personnel, coaching staff, or parents. The number of concussions occurring during sport participation has been estimated at just under 4 million injuries annually.
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