November 27, 2007

The physics of a football hit. : "At 5 ft. 11 in. and 199 pounds, Marcus Trufant is an average-size NFL defensive back (DB). [...] a DB's mass combined with his speed -- on average, 4.56 seconds for the 40-yard dash -- can produce up to 1,600 pounds of tackling force." Given the recent research that's showing concussions are far more serious than was once thought, this is a sobering read.

read story | posted by Drood to Football at 5:19 AM CDT (14 comments total)

Good post. Related, King Kauffman at Salon has a good column today on the role of team doctors The comments there are also interesting so far.

posted by rumple at 10:57 AM CDT on November 27

One comment? ONE COMMENT?! Yeesh:)

Ah well, at least one person appreciated it. It is a staggering stat. I should think you're probably better off being hit by a Smart car.

posted by Drood at 7:11 PM CDT on November 27

Drood was good post however unable to comments on anything more complicated than basic of the fastball-physis not withstanding.

posted by smdragon at 7:34 PM CDT on November 27

Drood, read the article, some excellent info. I am not suprised at the post career problems/illnesses these men suffer. It made my head hurt just reading it!

You might be better off being hit by a Smart Car, but I don't think the driver will fare very well. They have a pretty good shell ( as in energy displacement) and the passenger pod does hold up quite well in a crash. However, I don't think your brain will hold on to your spinal cord in a moderately high speed crash. I think it fall along the "internally decapitated" and "your organs are mush after hitting your rib cage" ("s are mine). You know, the "an object in motion will remain in motion..."

posted by steelergirl at 8:45 PM CDT on November 27

Drood, the quantity of comments does not reflect the quality of the post. I read the article, which I would not have discovered on my own. I found it to be a very informative, interesting read, however, I don't know what I could add. This post would get a doubleplus positive flag from me!

posted by tommytrump at 8:46 PM CDT on November 27

I know the comments don't reflect the quality. I was just kidding around:)

As for Smart cars, I'd need one for each foot... And I would NOT want to crash in one as I feel I'd probably be obliterated and they'd have to remove me with a spoon.

posted by Drood at 11:29 PM CDT on November 27

"...a DB's mass combined with his speed -- on average, 4.56 seconds for the 40-yard dash -- can produce up to 1,600 pounds of tackling force."
Now imagine the force from a Sean Taylor hit.

posted by Newbie Walker at 12:44 AM CDT on November 28

I'm thinking more kids will be playing soccer soon.

posted by worldcup2002 at 12:53 AM CDT on November 28

I think soccer gets an unfair rap as a "wuss" sport. (Don't bite my head off, soccer fans. I am one.) It requires a great degree of athleticism, but damn, this stuff about football... "So, son, what would you rather do? Kick a ball around and be labeled a wuss, or wear a lot of padding and get hit by a truck?"

There's this show up here in Canada on Discovery. For the life of me I can't remember the title. It's kinda like "Jackass" with a more scientific bent. First episode I saw, they had the guy having non-lethal weapons tested on him.

One episode they hooked up g-force sensors on his body, and had him take various forms of punishment. (Like crashing a car etc...) One of them was being hit by a CFL player. I know the forces were staggering. Not only the initial hit, but then the hit into the turf as well. I think he wound up with a concussion, or at the very least was out out of it for a few seconds.

Scary, scary stuff. I'm a pro-wrestling fan, and the Chris Benoit thing, especially the brain damage that was discovered from multiple concussions, has made it hard for me to watch anymore. (NOTE: I'm a wrestling fan, NOT a WWE fan.) I think if I was a football fan (not been one for a fair few years now) I'd be having the same problem right now, knowing these guys are taking that much punishment.

Kinda explains why MLB plays 162 games and the NFL only do 20 or so. (I honestly don't know the actual number of games.)

posted by Drood at 5:07 AM CDT on November 28

Great article, Drood, thanks for posting.

I wonder about the "memory foam". As someone who participates in several helmet sports, I've heard that foams that rebound in hard-hit situations are more likely to cause a concussion than foams that crush, like a bicycle helmet or a ski helmet. Skull goes one way, brain goes with it more or less...skull rebounds, brain keeps going and bounces off the brain. If you've ever had it, you know the sensation: you got hit on one side of your head, but you feel the hit on the other side. Is this the best possible helmet for this sport?

posted by lil_brown_bat at 8:57 AM CDT on November 28

If DB can generate 1600 lbs force, what happens when he meets a 210 lb RB who runs a 4.4 head on? Are we talking over 3000 lbs force??

posted by BikeNut at 9:07 AM CDT on November 28

I've had a three concussions. First one, a friend knocked me off a swing and I went head first into the concrete. Actually blacked out from that one. That was the worst of the three. I was 10 years old and felt SO ill. Secone one a car trailer fell on my head. The ball part of the socket that fits over the towing hitch crashed into my skull. It was leaning against a wall and fell and hit me. (I could have sued my employer really.) Drove myself to the hospital as well as nobody else would! Had a concussion, fractured skull (minor fracture)... Fortunately my lineage is blessed with exceptionally hard skulls. Third time was minor, when I hit my head on a low hanging pipe.

Stands to reason that hard foam would cause concussions. I mean as you said, head moves. Skull stops, brain smooshes into the side of the skull. Slow (comparatively) deceleration is the key to minimizing brain trauma.

Bikenut: I think we are.

posted by Drood at 6:25 PM CDT on November 28

Stands to reason that hard foam would cause concussions. I mean as you said, head moves. Skull stops, brain smooshes into the side of the skull. Slow (comparatively) deceleration is the key to minimizing brain trauma.

I think the empirical evidence suggests otherwise (see here), but there are also newer technologies coming out that go beyond hard foam vs. soft foam. Soft bouncy foam is pretty much a known concussion danger in a high-speed impact, though.

posted by lil_brown_bat at 7:25 PM CDT on November 28

Kinda explains why MLB plays 162 games and the NFL only do 20 or so. (I honestly don't know the actual number of games.

Well, it's good that football doesn't play 162 games and baseball does for those reasons, but the number of games is also a necessity in baseball and not in football for other reasons.

posted by justgary at 12:14 AM CDT on November 29

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