From WisPolitics.com/WisBusiness.com …
— UW-Madison researchers found high school football players wearing padded helmet covers had similar concussion rates as those without the extra padding, though the product maker disputes these findings.
Dr. Erin Hammer, assistant professor of orthopedics and rehabilitation at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, was the lead author of the study. It was published recently in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, detailing the results for 2,610 Wisconsin high school football players.
Less than half of the players wore the Football Guardian Cap XT, made by Georgia-based Guardian Innovations, while the rest wore helmets but no padded cap. Findings were based solely on practice, and the caps weren’t worn during games.
After following the players from 41 teams during the 2023 football season, researchers found “no effect” on rates of sports-related concussions between the two groups. Of the 64 concussions that happened during practice, 33 were among players wearing the padded caps and 31 were in the other group.
“Given the size of our study, it seems that if Guardian Caps did protect against sports-related concussions in high school players, we would have seen that result,” Hammer said in a release from the university.
In an emailed statement on the study, Guardian Innovations founder and owner Erin Hanson says the study “cannot reliably lead to the conclusion that Guardian Caps are not of benefit.” She argues the study didn’t control for a number of variables, such as player size differences or “if the helmet was even involved” in the collision.
“The NFL has mandated Guardian Caps for all position groups except for Kickers, Punters, and Quarterbacks for all contact practices, resulting in a more than 50% decrease in concussions,” Hanson said. “Last week, the NFL announced the lowest concussion rate since they started tracking data in 2015, due in part to their addition of Guardian Caps.”
Hanson also pointed to NFL lab testing showing the caps reduce impact even better at the lower speed typical of high school football.
Previous testing in a lab setting had found the Guardian Caps could “reduce forces to the head” during an impact, the release notes. But Hammer, who’s also a sports medicine doctor at UW Health, said using these caps may “provide false reassurance” to players and parents about reducing the risk of concussion.
Still, she says these findings can’t be applied to college and professional football, as those players wear a thicker version of the covering. Further data analysis also found other factors didn’t affect concussion risk in the study, such as previous concussions, helmet brand, experience playing football, or playing surface.
Study authors recommend high school football teams use “data-backed interventions” to reduce head injuries, pointing to hiring athletic trainers and making rule changes to reduce contact during practice. Others include additional safety training for coaches and adding jaw padding to helmets.
See the release below.
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