New Study Confirms Even Minor Impacts Can Cause Concussions and Traumatic Brain Injury

An important new study to be published in the December issue of the journal, Neurosurgery confirms that impacts considered to be minor can cause a concussion and a traumatic brain injury.

The study is based upon date obtained from sensors placed in football helmets.  Researchers at the University of North Carolina studied the amount of force that the player received on impact.

Using special accelerometers embedded in helmets, researchers were able to measure in real time the amount of g-force players' heads experienced at impact, where on the head the players were hit and the directional force of the hits -- linear (straight) or rotational (twisted). The system is called HITS, or Head Impact Telemetry System.

"People see massive hits and think, 'that's the one!' and ignore more trivial blows," said Kevin Guskiewicz, Ph.D., senior author on the papers and chair of the department of exercise and sport science in UNC's College of Arts & Sciences. "Now we know that these trivial hits may be just as serious as the harder ones."

Hopefully this information will cause those who believe that minor impacts cause no permanent injury to reevaluate their opinions.  There is no such thing as a minor head injury.  All head injury must be treated seriously.