The Hammer and the Nail: Biomechanics of Striking and Struck Canadian University Football Players

This study sought to evaluate head accelerations in both players involved in a football collision. Players on two opposing Canadian university teams were equipped with helmet mounted sensors during one game per season, for two consecutive seasons. A total of 276 collisions between 58 instrumented players were identified via video and cross-referenced with sensor timestamps. Player involvement (striking and struck), impact type (block or tackle), head impact location (front, back, left and right), and play type were recorded from video footage. While struck players did not experience significantly different linear or rotational accelerations between any play types, striking players had the highest linear and rotational head accelerations during kickoff plays (p ≤ .03). Striking players also experienced greater linear and rotational head accelerations than struck players during kickoff plays (p = .001). However, struck players experienced greater linear and rotational accelerations than striking players during kick return plays (p ≤ .008). Other studies have established that the more severe the head impact, the greater risk for injury to the brain. This paper’s results highlight that kickoff play rule changes, as implemented in American college football, would decrease head impact exposure of Canadian university football athletes and make the game safer.