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WASHINGTON, DC—Limiting the amount of full-contact tackling that occurs in high school football practice reduces the rate of sports-related concussions among the athletes, according to a prospective study.
“Something as simple as saying they can’t tackle all the time, limiting the amount of minutes each month, reduced the incidence,” said Timothy A. McGuine, PhD, Senior Scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, at the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting.
“The majority of sports-related concussions sustained in high school football practice occurred during full-contact activities,” he said. “The rate of sports-related concussions sustained in high school football practice was more than twice as high in the two seasons prior to a rule change limiting the amount and duration of full-contact activities.”
Testing a Tackle-Limiting Rule
In their study, Dr. McGuine and his associates tested the effects of a tackle-limiting rule implemented in 2014 in a state interscholastic athletic association for all players in grades 9 through 12. The rule prohibited full-contact play during the first practice week, and full contact was defined as “drills or game situations that occur at game speed when full tackles are made at a competitive pace and players are taken to the ground.” The players engaged in full-contact play for as long as 75 minutes total during the second week of practice and for a maximum of 60 min/week for all subsequent weeks in the practice season. The rule did not apply to games.
For data on the two years before the rule change, 2,081 athletes with a mean age of 16 reported their concussion history in the 2012 season, which included 36 schools, and the 2013 season, which included 18 schools. In 2014, licensed athletic trainers recorded the incidence and severity of each sports-related concussion for the 945 players at 26 schools. During all three seasons, almost half the concussions (46%) occurred during tackling. Although the overall rate of concussions dropped from 1.57 per 1,000 athletic exposures in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons to 1.28 per 1,000 athletic exposures in the 2014 season, the difference was not significant. During the 2012 and 2013 seasons combined, 206 players (9%) sustained 211 concussions, compared with 67 players (7%) with 70 concussions in 2014.
The difference in concussions occurring during practice, however, did differ significantly before and after the rule change. The rate of concussions during practice in 2014 was 0.33 concussions per 1,000 athletic exposures, compared with 0.76 concussions per 1,000 exposures in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Twelve of 15 concussions in 2014 practices occurred during full-contact practices, a rate of 0.57 per 1,000 exposures, and 82 of 86 concussions in the 2012 and 2013 seasons occurred during full contact practices, a rate of 0.87 per 1,000 exposures.
The investigators observed no difference in concussion rate during the games following the rule change. The 2014 rate of concussions during games was 5.74 per 1,000 exposures, compared with 5.81 per 1,000 exposures in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. The severity of concussions sustained before and after the rule change also did not differ, and athletes’ years of football-playing experience had no effect on the concussion incidence in 2014.
To Tackle or Not to Tackle?
Despite the relationship between full-contact play and concussions, Dr. McGuine said that he would not support banning tackling from football.
“I think the benefits of the sport far outweigh the risks,” Dr. McGuine said. “Concussions particularly have transcended a sports issue and become a public health issue and have become political, and I’m very much against legislators, policy makers, [and] associations making blanket rules without the evidence to back those,” he said. “There are lingering long-term effects from all orthopedic injuries, but we’re focusing on concussions.”
Equipment modification is unlikely to make much difference in concussion rates either, said Dr. McGuine, whose previous study on football helmets found that the brand and model did not influence concussion risk. “Concussions are multifactorial,” he said. “We can’t just limit the amount of force transmitted to the brain and say we’re going to stop these injuries from occurring.”
One important strategy for reducing concussions is increasing parents’ and athletes’ awareness about multiple injuries and about ways to reduce the risk, Dr. McGuine said.
“Concussions are like any other injury [such as] ankle sprains, knee injuries and surgeries, [and] shoulder dislocations,” he said. “If you have one, you’re more susceptible to having another one, as opposed to somebody who never had that injury, so the problems are repeat injuries and lingering injuries.” Any of these injuries can have a lasting effect on a young athlete’s quality of life, Dr. McGuine added.
Another way to decrease the incidence of concussions is to enforce rules against leading, or lowering, athletes’ heads during tackling.
“A big issue now is penalizing players for leading with their head and face, but I think we need to be consistent there, too,” Dr. McGuine said. “We can’t penalize defensive players for lowering their helmet if we’re not going to penalize running backs and wide receivers.”
—Tara Haelle
WASHINGTON, DC—Limiting the amount of full-contact tackling that occurs in high school football practice reduces the rate of sports-related concussions among the athletes, according to a prospective study.
“Something as simple as saying they can’t tackle all the time, limiting the amount of minutes each month, reduced the incidence,” said Timothy A. McGuine, PhD, Senior Scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, at the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting.
“The majority of sports-related concussions sustained in high school football practice occurred during full-contact activities,” he said. “The rate of sports-related concussions sustained in high school football practice was more than twice as high in the two seasons prior to a rule change limiting the amount and duration of full-contact activities.”
Testing a Tackle-Limiting Rule
In their study, Dr. McGuine and his associates tested the effects of a tackle-limiting rule implemented in 2014 in a state interscholastic athletic association for all players in grades 9 through 12. The rule prohibited full-contact play during the first practice week, and full contact was defined as “drills or game situations that occur at game speed when full tackles are made at a competitive pace and players are taken to the ground.” The players engaged in full-contact play for as long as 75 minutes total during the second week of practice and for a maximum of 60 min/week for all subsequent weeks in the practice season. The rule did not apply to games.
For data on the two years before the rule change, 2,081 athletes with a mean age of 16 reported their concussion history in the 2012 season, which included 36 schools, and the 2013 season, which included 18 schools. In 2014, licensed athletic trainers recorded the incidence and severity of each sports-related concussion for the 945 players at 26 schools. During all three seasons, almost half the concussions (46%) occurred during tackling. Although the overall rate of concussions dropped from 1.57 per 1,000 athletic exposures in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons to 1.28 per 1,000 athletic exposures in the 2014 season, the difference was not significant. During the 2012 and 2013 seasons combined, 206 players (9%) sustained 211 concussions, compared with 67 players (7%) with 70 concussions in 2014.
The difference in concussions occurring during practice, however, did differ significantly before and after the rule change. The rate of concussions during practice in 2014 was 0.33 concussions per 1,000 athletic exposures, compared with 0.76 concussions per 1,000 exposures in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Twelve of 15 concussions in 2014 practices occurred during full-contact practices, a rate of 0.57 per 1,000 exposures, and 82 of 86 concussions in the 2012 and 2013 seasons occurred during full contact practices, a rate of 0.87 per 1,000 exposures.
The investigators observed no difference in concussion rate during the games following the rule change. The 2014 rate of concussions during games was 5.74 per 1,000 exposures, compared with 5.81 per 1,000 exposures in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. The severity of concussions sustained before and after the rule change also did not differ, and athletes’ years of football-playing experience had no effect on the concussion incidence in 2014.
To Tackle or Not to Tackle?
Despite the relationship between full-contact play and concussions, Dr. McGuine said that he would not support banning tackling from football.
“I think the benefits of the sport far outweigh the risks,” Dr. McGuine said. “Concussions particularly have transcended a sports issue and become a public health issue and have become political, and I’m very much against legislators, policy makers, [and] associations making blanket rules without the evidence to back those,” he said. “There are lingering long-term effects from all orthopedic injuries, but we’re focusing on concussions.”
Equipment modification is unlikely to make much difference in concussion rates either, said Dr. McGuine, whose previous study on football helmets found that the brand and model did not influence concussion risk. “Concussions are multifactorial,” he said. “We can’t just limit the amount of force transmitted to the brain and say we’re going to stop these injuries from occurring.”
One important strategy for reducing concussions is increasing parents’ and athletes’ awareness about multiple injuries and about ways to reduce the risk, Dr. McGuine said.
“Concussions are like any other injury [such as] ankle sprains, knee injuries and surgeries, [and] shoulder dislocations,” he said. “If you have one, you’re more susceptible to having another one, as opposed to somebody who never had that injury, so the problems are repeat injuries and lingering injuries.” Any of these injuries can have a lasting effect on a young athlete’s quality of life, Dr. McGuine added.
Another way to decrease the incidence of concussions is to enforce rules against leading, or lowering, athletes’ heads during tackling.
“A big issue now is penalizing players for leading with their head and face, but I think we need to be consistent there, too,” Dr. McGuine said. “We can’t penalize defensive players for lowering their helmet if we’re not going to penalize running backs and wide receivers.”
—Tara Haelle
WASHINGTON, DC—Limiting the amount of full-contact tackling that occurs in high school football practice reduces the rate of sports-related concussions among the athletes, according to a prospective study.
“Something as simple as saying they can’t tackle all the time, limiting the amount of minutes each month, reduced the incidence,” said Timothy A. McGuine, PhD, Senior Scientist at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, at the American Academy of Pediatrics Annual Meeting.
“The majority of sports-related concussions sustained in high school football practice occurred during full-contact activities,” he said. “The rate of sports-related concussions sustained in high school football practice was more than twice as high in the two seasons prior to a rule change limiting the amount and duration of full-contact activities.”
Testing a Tackle-Limiting Rule
In their study, Dr. McGuine and his associates tested the effects of a tackle-limiting rule implemented in 2014 in a state interscholastic athletic association for all players in grades 9 through 12. The rule prohibited full-contact play during the first practice week, and full contact was defined as “drills or game situations that occur at game speed when full tackles are made at a competitive pace and players are taken to the ground.” The players engaged in full-contact play for as long as 75 minutes total during the second week of practice and for a maximum of 60 min/week for all subsequent weeks in the practice season. The rule did not apply to games.
For data on the two years before the rule change, 2,081 athletes with a mean age of 16 reported their concussion history in the 2012 season, which included 36 schools, and the 2013 season, which included 18 schools. In 2014, licensed athletic trainers recorded the incidence and severity of each sports-related concussion for the 945 players at 26 schools. During all three seasons, almost half the concussions (46%) occurred during tackling. Although the overall rate of concussions dropped from 1.57 per 1,000 athletic exposures in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons to 1.28 per 1,000 athletic exposures in the 2014 season, the difference was not significant. During the 2012 and 2013 seasons combined, 206 players (9%) sustained 211 concussions, compared with 67 players (7%) with 70 concussions in 2014.
The difference in concussions occurring during practice, however, did differ significantly before and after the rule change. The rate of concussions during practice in 2014 was 0.33 concussions per 1,000 athletic exposures, compared with 0.76 concussions per 1,000 exposures in the 2012 and 2013 seasons. Twelve of 15 concussions in 2014 practices occurred during full-contact practices, a rate of 0.57 per 1,000 exposures, and 82 of 86 concussions in the 2012 and 2013 seasons occurred during full contact practices, a rate of 0.87 per 1,000 exposures.
The investigators observed no difference in concussion rate during the games following the rule change. The 2014 rate of concussions during games was 5.74 per 1,000 exposures, compared with 5.81 per 1,000 exposures in the combined 2012 and 2013 seasons. The severity of concussions sustained before and after the rule change also did not differ, and athletes’ years of football-playing experience had no effect on the concussion incidence in 2014.
To Tackle or Not to Tackle?
Despite the relationship between full-contact play and concussions, Dr. McGuine said that he would not support banning tackling from football.
“I think the benefits of the sport far outweigh the risks,” Dr. McGuine said. “Concussions particularly have transcended a sports issue and become a public health issue and have become political, and I’m very much against legislators, policy makers, [and] associations making blanket rules without the evidence to back those,” he said. “There are lingering long-term effects from all orthopedic injuries, but we’re focusing on concussions.”
Equipment modification is unlikely to make much difference in concussion rates either, said Dr. McGuine, whose previous study on football helmets found that the brand and model did not influence concussion risk. “Concussions are multifactorial,” he said. “We can’t just limit the amount of force transmitted to the brain and say we’re going to stop these injuries from occurring.”
One important strategy for reducing concussions is increasing parents’ and athletes’ awareness about multiple injuries and about ways to reduce the risk, Dr. McGuine said.
“Concussions are like any other injury [such as] ankle sprains, knee injuries and surgeries, [and] shoulder dislocations,” he said. “If you have one, you’re more susceptible to having another one, as opposed to somebody who never had that injury, so the problems are repeat injuries and lingering injuries.” Any of these injuries can have a lasting effect on a young athlete’s quality of life, Dr. McGuine added.
Another way to decrease the incidence of concussions is to enforce rules against leading, or lowering, athletes’ heads during tackling.
“A big issue now is penalizing players for leading with their head and face, but I think we need to be consistent there, too,” Dr. McGuine said. “We can’t penalize defensive players for lowering their helmet if we’re not going to penalize running backs and wide receivers.”
—Tara Haelle