Last week the NFL and the NFL Players Association settled a class action lawsuit brought by former pro players and their families who had suffered a multitude of physical and psychological effects from a career filled with continuous blows to the head. As a result of this historic settlement, the NFL will pay the retired players $765 million. This money will be used to provide players with baseline medical exams, a compensation fund for players or their families who have suffered cognitive injuries (such as dementia, Lou Gehrig’s disease and Alzheimer’s) and establish a research and education fund.   While the suit was brought by 4500 players, more than 18,000 former players will ultimately benefit from the settlement.  

While the league did not admit to guilt in the settlement, it has been taking steps towards preventing, diagnosing and treating concussions. Earlier this year, the NFL partnered with General Electric to begin “development of imaging technology that would detect concussions and encourage the creation of materials to better protect the brain”. The initiative’s main objective is to develop a machine with the smarts to predict which players are likely to sustain a head injury, the severity of the injury and estimate the rate of recovery. 

At Virginia Tech, years of research (which included analysis of over 2 million high school and collegiate head impacts during football games) resulted in the 2011 creation of The Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings™.  The rating system measures the ability of different helmets to manage impact energy.  The better the management, the higher the number of ‘stars’ the helmet receives (up to 5), the lower the risk of concussion.

The good news? Tech reports that 3 of the last 4 new helmet models released in the past year received a 4-5 star rating; a great sign that manufacturers are making the changes necessary to help reduce head injuries.  Now that’s using your head.