SAN ANTONIO – Researchers at Penn State University are hoping to use new technology to help reduce the number of concussions on football players.
In the fall of 2017 researchers tested a soft shell helmet cap called ProTech on 34 defensive and offensive linemen during practice.
Tim Bream former athletic trainer at Penn State explains the goal was to see if the caps changed the amount of hits to the head and the force of those hits.
He says the study found the caps cut the force generated but it also showed the number of hits that hit a player plateaued.
The university considered using another similar product called Guardian, but opted for ProTech for its research.
Jarred Peeples of San Antonio is a salesman for ProTech manufacturer Defend Your Head. He says right now Texas high schools and universities are only allowed to practice using the helmet caps.
At a cost of about $160, parents can purchase them for their children, he says.
“It's for practices right now as far as the State of Texas is concerned,” Peeples said. “There's not a parent or school I talk to that doesn't want the product.”
The University Interscholastic League, which oversees public school athletics, said the following regarding the use of helmet add-ons during a game:
“The UIL does not have rules prohibiting football players from wearing helmet add-ons, but we also do not endorse or encourage the use of any of these products."
Holy Cross San Antonio purchased the helmet caps last year and used them during practice, but said they eventually stopped the use of it. Players at the University of the Incarnate Word use seven different styles of helmets, each helmet has its own specific design, and each helmet scores differently on the annual safety testing.
Peeples says schools outside of Texas that have purchased the ProTech caps are using them during games. His company is working to present the data found by the Penn State research to the UIL and the NCAA.
Bream who now works at University of Tennessee-Chattanooga says he plans to continue his part of the helmet caps research at this new school and introduce MRI’s of the players game to track any possible changes based on the use of them. He also talks about his findings at medical conventions.
“If we can show it will decrease the number of impacts to the head it could be worthwhile using it in youth football, high school, college and professional level,” he said.