Newer football helmet technology and design may reduce the incidence of concussions in high school football players, according to results from the first phase of a three-year study by the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center's (UPMC) Sports Medicine Concussion Program. The current study compared concussion rates and recovery times of high school athletes wearing newer helmet technology to those wearing helmets with traditional designs. There was no significant difference in recovery time between the two helmet groups.

Published in the February issue of the scientific journal Neurosurgery, the UPMC study of more than 2,000 high school football players is the first on-the-field investigation to compare concussion rates and recovery times for high school football players wearing the Riddell Revolution helmet, with its newer technology and design, to concussion rates and recovery times for players wearing standard helmets with traditional design.

Across the three years of this initial study, the annual concussion rate was 5.4 percent in athletes wearing the Revolution helmet, compared to a 7.6 annual percent rate in athletes wearing standard helmets, representing a 2.3 percent decreased absolute risk of concussion for high school football players. In terms of relative risk, Revolution wearers were 31 percent less likely to sustain a concussion compared to athletes who wore standard football helmets.

The Revolution helmet, manufactured and introduced by Riddell in 2002, was developed with the intent of reducing the incidence and severity of concussion. The design features and engineering specifications of the helmet were formulated after several years of biomechanical laboratory testing. The current study compared the new Revolution helmet versus models of traditional design from Riddell and other manufacturers that were on the market prior to 2002.

"This study, the first to look at how the newer designed helmets performed in the field
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9-Jan-2006

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