Browsing by Author "Campolettano, Eamon Thomas"

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    On-Field Measurement of Head Impacts in Youth Football: Characterizing High Magnitude Impacts and Assessing Balance Outcomes
    Campolettano, Eamon Thomas (Virginia Tech, 2017-05-15)
    The research presented in this thesis focuses on head impact exposure in youth football. The on-field portion of this research investigated high magnitude head impacts that youth football players experience in games and practices. With previously validated data collection methods, linear and rotational head accelerations from head impacts were collected. Over the course of two seasons, 79 total player-seasons resulted in over 13,000 impacts. A small subset of these, 979 impacts exceeding 40 g, represented the focus of this research as these impacts pose the greatest risk of injury to individuals. Some tackling drills in practice were found to have higher acceleration severities than those observed in games. How practice activities are conducted also contributes towards the overall high magnitude head impact exposure for practice, not just the practice drill itself. Within games, players who are running backs and linebackers played most frequently and experienced higher magnitude impacts more often than their teammates. Data were also collected from all players off the field. Each player completed balance assessments at the beginning and end of the season to allow for comparison, even in absence of a clinically-diagnosed concussion. Current balance assessments were observed to fall short for detecting postural control differences in this youth population. Modifications to these assessments were recommended that might allow for further insights. Research presented in this thesis will inform youth football organizations as they continue to develop strategies to enhance player safety and mitigate head impact exposure.
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    Quantifying Postural Control, Concussion Risk, and Helmet Performance in Youth Football
    Campolettano, Eamon Thomas (Virginia Tech, 2019-05-02)
    As many as 1.9 million sports-related concussions occur annually in youth sports in the United States (U.S.). Often considered a transient injury, research has begun to relate sports-related concussions to long-term neurodegeneration. Youth athletes are considered to be more vulnerable to concussion than their adult counterparts. The research presented in this dissertation was aimed at promoting player safety in youth football as it relates to concussion. Balance dysfunction is often cited as one of the most common symptoms associated with a concussion. Several postural control assessments were assessed in order to develop a youth-specific testing protocol. A cognitive, dual-task assessment was presented for clinician use in the management of sports-related concussion. On-field data collected from youth football players wearing instrumented helmets allowed for characterization of the biomechanics of head impacts and concussions for this population. A youth concussion risk function was developed using head impact data collected from youth football players with medically diagnosed concussions. The proposed testing standard for youth football helmets was assessed in the laboratory and related to on-field head impact data to determine how representative the standard is of youth football head impacts. Helmet safety standards and certifications operate on a pass-fail threshold that does not allow consumers to weigh the relative performance of helmets. A modification of the Summation of Tests for the Analysis of Risk (STAR) evaluation system was developed for youth football helmets. Data presented in this dissertation have direct application to the development of future helmet safety standards and potentially other safety applications as well.