Football helmets may offer little protection against 'dangerous' brain injuries: Study

Footballers may not get enough protection from the helmets currently used on the field against hits to the side of the head, or rotational force, which is an often dangerous source of brain injury and encephalopathy, a study has revealed.

According to the study from Florida Center for Headache and Sports Neurology and the Florida State University College of Medicine, protection against concussion and complications of brain injury is especially important for young players, whose still-developing brains are more susceptible to the lasting effects of trauma

For the study, researchers modified the standard drop test system, approved by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, that tests impacts and helmet safety and used a crash test dummy head and neck to simulate impact.

The study found that football helmets on average reduced the risk of traumatic brain injury by only 20 percent as compared to not wearing a helmet, adding that of the 10 helmet brands tested, the Adams a2000 provided the best protection against concussion and the Schutt Air Advantage the worst.

A researcher however, said that alarmingly, the helmets that offered the least protection against rotational forces, which are responsible for serious brain damage, are among the most popular on the field.

The study also found that football helmets provided protection from linear impacts, or those leading to bruising and skull fracture.