The Evolution and Safety of Football Helmets

16 December 2021
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Alec Freytag
Bucknell University
MECH 476: Biomechanics
Final Project Report
Background / Introduction
Everyday life is full of contact. Whether it’s bumping into a wall, slipping and falling, or playing a
sport, the human body endures a lot of different types of impact on a daily basis. We get scratched,
bruised, and break bones, however, sometimes the worst injuries to the human body are not even
able to be seen. One of the most fragile and important pieces of our bodies is our brain, housed
safely inside of a thick bone skull; or at least it seems to be safe. These hits and falls that we take can
create serious forces within our bodies. Based on Newton's First Law, the law of inertia, which says
that an object in motion will stay in motion unless acted upon by an unbalanced force, our brain will
keep moving at the same speed as our body inside of our skull until it hits the inner wall of the skull
if our body is suddenly stopped in a collision.

This concept can be applied specifically to the sport of football, considering players running full
speed at each other and then applying huge hits. When they collide, their brains keep moving at the
speed their body was moving before the collision, which can cause it to hit the inside of their skull.
Avoiding this result is very difficult without changing the rules of football, but strides have been
made with regards to head gear in order to keep the players as safe as possible. As we have seen over
the past decade through new research, both concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy
(CTE) have surfaced and become serious issues. Through studying the brains of many deceased
professional football players, CTE was found in over 99% of them [2, 6]. CTE is caused by the
repeated hits to the brain and repeated concussions over time, which most football players
experience due to the nature of the sport. The National Football League (NFL) has attempted to
mitigate these issues through new rules that discourage large hits, however, repeated small hits
between players every single play of the game still causes issues. It is this complexity between
repeated small hits and single large hits that has made designing safety equipment difficult.

This report will seek to understand the steps various manufacturers have taken over the years to
address these brain injuries and attempt to prevent or minimize them through helmet design, as well
as identifying how much safer helmets have actually become as football has evolved and CTE and
concussion research has surfaced. Helmets have changed drastically over time, beginning with
simple straps and earpieces back when American football was developed in 1869 [1]. Eventually,
some decades later, leather head caps were used which transitioned into plastic in the mid 1900s, and
finally to the polycarbonate designs that are seen today. Helmets today, though, include much more
engineering design than simply a chosen material. Many of the designs today include complex
systems of foam padding designed to improve safety, with many layers of different geometries and
compositions. A visual showing the transformation of helmets through the years, as well as some of
the significant events that influenced the sport of football and safety associated with it can be found
in Figure 5 of the Appendix. This report will discuss in detail the many aspects of current helmets
that work together to attempt to solve the complex issue about different types of hits presented
above. Along with explaining current helmet designs, there are two primary research questions that
this report will answer: Are the football helmets being made today safer than previous designs? and
How have biomechanics and the physics of football hits influenced the design of football helmets?
Methods
In order to begin answering these proposed questions, a study into the types of helmets that have
been used over the almost 200 years of football first needs to be done. As shown on the cover page
of this report, many different materials have been used to try and protect our heads, and even today,
there is not one type of helmet being used. Bike helmets have similarities to current football helmets,
but also many differences, as helmets have become very unique to the exact task and type of hit they
are meant to take. In parallel to this research into helmet designs over the years, research will be
conducted into the physics behind football hits, including the forces, directions, and accelerations
that are applied to the human body. Understanding the exact application of force on the body will
likely give good insight into the reason for the current helmet designs being used today.

The next and final stage of research for this report will be a deeper dive into the engineering design
behind current helmets and future concepts for helmets. As mentioned, there are multiple different
football helmet designs in use in the NFL, college, and high school football, and research is being
done into even more different designs. Each year, many different safety rankings of helmets are put
out that usually include a lot of the same helmets, but they are never unanimous on the best overall
helmet. This shows me that defining the safety of a football helmet is not a simple process, making
the research question of understanding the design behind current helmets even more interesting.

The biomechanics concepts that relate to football are extensive. Even when we zoom in and simply
look at the human head, we see principles of mechanical strain and pressure gradients on the brain
during impact, force and stress acting on the skull bone during a big hit, and the viscoelastic
properties of brain tissue as it reacts nonlinearly to contact. All of these different pieces of our head
that experience trauma can be classified into two categories, skull and brain injury. Skull injuries are
not as common in football due to the padding that has been added to helmets, but brain injury,
including concussions and CTE, is still very prominent in football.

Research
Two articles came to light when looking into previous football helmet safety comparison tests that
have been conducted. These two tests both examined the same leather helmets that were used as far
back as the 1930s, in comparison with ten different more current helmet models that were in use in
2013 when the studies were conducted. The leather helmets, called the Hutch H-18, are pictured
below in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Hutch H-18 leather caps from the 1930s used for the tests conducted in both articles [8]
These two research papers discuss the methods used for testing, which were different for each
study. In the first study conducted by Bartsch and others, two helmets were outfitted onto Hybrid
III male neckforms as shown in Figure 2 below, and collisions from various sides and angles were
created.

Figure 2: Test setup for the study conducted by Bartsch and others [7]

On the other hand, the study conducted by Rowson and others used the test setup below in Figure
3, with only a single helmet on a Hybrid III neckform, and a linear impactor to create contact.

Figure 3: Test setup for the study conducted by Rowson and others [8]
The other key difference between the methods used for each of these two studies is with the
number of trials and impact variables chosen. For the second test conducted by Rowson an
established drop test that is well known and used by the National Operating Committee on
Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) was used, consisting of a series of 20 drops (4
locations, 5 heights at each location) [4]. This method has been largely proved to be accurate to
football hits recorded when playing, and is thus used when actually creating helmet safety rankings.
On the other hand, the study by Bartsch designed a new test, using different velocities of the
helmets and swinging them into each other from various angles and sides. Although this may seem
more realistic to have two helmets contacting rather than one helmet and an anvil, I find it hard to
trust these unproven methods against the NOCSAE standard drop tests. The reason these methods
are important are due to the conflicting findings of these two tests.

The study by Bartsch with the unique testing method concluded that “For many of the impacts,
leather helmets demonstrated head impact doses and injury risks on par with or better than those
demonstrated by several of the varsity helmets. Overall, the majority of impact dose results indicated
a similar protectiveness profile for the leather helmet and the modern varsity helmets as regards to
impacts in the near- and subconcussive range studied” [7]. This is a significant statement to make, as
helmet manufacturers and the NFL have talked about the significant safety improvements that are
being made each and every year with regards to helmets. Figure 6 of the Appendix shows the results
of this study, with this similar data in regards to linear acceleration, angular acceleration, angular
velocity, neck force, and neck moment shown. I am skeptical of this conclusion before reading any
other studies due to the significant engineering design, research, and technological strides that have
been made over the past 90 years, and specifically very recently. To help verify or refute this claim, I
found the study conducted by Rowson and others, which used many of the same testing variables to
attempt to prove or disprove the results obtained by Bartsch.

This second study done by Rowson was conducted less than a year after the study by Bartsch, and
found the exact opposite results. As noted, the key difference was the method of testing used for
impact. The big conclusion from the Rowson study was that “The leather helmet group had a
substantially greater average peak acceleration associated with each drop height compared with
modern helmets” [8]. This acceleration of the head is the key when studying helmet impacts, as this
gives an idea of the magnitude of impact transferred to the brain. The results presented from this
second study can be found in Figure 7 of the Appendix, showing the comparison between the
leather helmets, 3-star rated helmets, and 4 or 5-star rated helmets from 2013. This star rating is an
official measure of safety determined by NOCSAE, ranging from 1 to 5, unsafe to safe, respectively.

Unfortunately, the NFL does not release the data they collect each year when conducting their
testing of helmets in order to rank them, they simply post a final image of helmets ranked as the
safest to least safe of the 20 or so that they test [3]. This means that data more current than the 2013
tests described above was unable to be found, so the safety of football helmets for the purpose of
this report will be taken in the context of 2013.
Results and Analysis
To answer the first research question asking whether current football helmets are in fact safer than
previous designs, the study by Rowson will be used. As discussed above and addressed in the article
by Rowson, the first test conducted by Bartsch should not be used because “the impactor, a
swinging NOCSAE head form, adds compliance to the system” [8]. Rowson also discussed that if
there was any significance to the Bartsch test, it was that “leather helmets performed similarly to
modern helmets when struck by a Riddell VSR4 helmet at lower impact severities” [8], which is not
as important when studying the occurrence of concussions in football.

The test results from Rowson, as shown in Figure 7 of the Appendix, found that polycarbonate
helmets used in 2013 were able to reduce the risk of concussion by 45% in the 24 inch drop test,
and 96% in the 36 inch drop test when compared to 1930 hard leather helmets. This test was able to
conclude that in every drop test and every setup, the more recent helmets performed significantly
better than the old leather helmets. In order to determine this risk of concussion, the head
acceleration during impact was measured, and then previously developed tools were able to estimate
the risk of concussion. These results of both the head acceleration and estimated risk of concussion
prove that the engineering design and material changes that have occurred over the past century
have in fact improved the safety of football helmets.

The second research question proposed for this report relates towards the testing being done on the
helmets to determine safety and the new research being done on CTE and concussions. As
introduced in the “Background / Introduction” section above, there is a distinct difference between
concussions and CTE, and the types of hits that cause them. Concussions are caused by single,
typically larger hits, whereas CTE is due to repeated smaller hits and repeated concussions. These
larger hits can cause brain swelling and skull fracture with the concussions, which is why designing
helmets that can protect against large impacts is one of the main focuses. The small, repeated hits,
although they may not seem too devastating at the time, cause the brain to hit around inside the
skull and can cause injury to the outer edges of the brain. Also, white matter fibers deep within the
brain are pulled and twisted after impact, a bad situation for the human body. As more research and
insight into the impacts on the human body of these repeated hits is found, helmet design has taken
some turns. Up until the past couple of decades, helmets had been primarily designed to mitigate
larger hits through the use of a foam padding to spread the area of contact around the head and
absorb some of the energy of the impact. This was due to everyone assuming that these single, large
hits were much worse for the human body that repeated small hits, which is a fair commonsensical
assumption. This has been proven to be untrue, though, and is still being unraveled as hundreds of
millions of dollars are poured into CTE research every year [2]. One piece of this CTE research and
designing helmets against CTE comes from a research laboratory at Stanford. David Camarillo has
been researching CTE, the biomechanics behind small repeated hits, and how he can design a
helmet to prevent this. His design, utilizing a layer of water or oil to absorb the energy, is a complete
change from the helmets seen on the market today with many layers of advanced and lightweight
padding. This layer of water or oil is meant to act as a liquid shock absorber, which theoretically has
better performance than any sort of foam padding. Unfortunately, this concept is not yet a reality,
and has only been tested through computer simulation, but Camarillo believes it is very promising.
Through simulation, he has found that in a close to ideal case, concussions could be reduced by 75%
from the current helmets that are being used [9]. On top of this, this design would act as a
preventative measure towards the mild traumatic brain injury hits that cause CTE. He was able to
draw these theoretical conclusions through setting up the model in Figure 4 below for a human
head, brain, and helmet with padding.
Figure 4: Spring and damper model for a human brain, skull, and helmet padding [9]

I found it very neat to see a spring and damper model similar to those used in class this semester to
model a new part of the human body. The springs and dampers represent the thin walls between the
brain and skull, as well as a region of padding that needs to be able to absorb enough energy from a
blow to not cause the brain to spike in acceleration or hit the skull. To prove that a liquid shock
absorber could work better than the current foam paddings being used, as well as other options for
force absorption, further testing was done by Camarillo and his team of researchers. Figure 8 in the
Appendix shows the results of this testing, and as can be seen in every data category, the liquid
shock absorber performs the best. Consistently, the liquid absorber is able to reduce the head
velocity, acceleration, and HIC-15 score at various velocities at impact. This is a very significant
result, proving that although helmets have been improving in safety as discussed above with the
results from the Rowson study, there is more potential for safety improvement, specifically with
regards to CTE and mild, repeated blows to the head.

Conclusion
The sport of football is rough. Even with rules changes every few years to attempt to avoid some of
the worser hits, the safety of the players is always in danger. When football was created almost 200
years ago, essentially no safety precautions were taken. The sport has obviously come a long way
from then, especially with regards to helmets. The football helmet began as a soft leather cap,

moving to hard leather and then plastic and now to polycarbonate. Along with this outer shell
changing, the padding within the helmets has been developing too, now utilizing multi-layer foam
padding systems with various geometries to attempt to mitigate the impacts of collisions. Through
testing and direct comparison of the old leather caps and the more current polycarbonate designs, it
was found that helmets have become around 50-100% safer with respect to decreasing acceleration
of the head and reducing the likelihood of concussions. This is a huge and necessary improvement
to reducing concussions in the NFL, however, there is a bigger danger. Knowledge about CTE has
surfaced over the past couple of decades, and very recently has become a prominent point of
concern in the NFL, as it is not caused by these large hits that helmet companies have been
designing against, but rather repeated, mild hits. Designing to keep players safe from repeated small
hits requires a new trajectory, one that has not been completely figured out yet. There are new
options and research into promising technologies, such as the liquid shock absorber that would
utilize a layer of water or oil inside the helmet to absorb energy during a collision. Although not
physically implemented or tested yet, a new design like this absorber could be the next large step in
helmet safety design to continue advancing the safety of the game of football.

Appendix

Figure 5: American football helmet and general timeline [7]

Figure 6: Results of the Bartsch study comparing leather and polycarbonate helmets [7]
Figure 7: Results of the Rowson study comparing leather and polycarbonate helmets [8]
Figure 8: Results of a theoretical test of a liquid shock absorber versus foam padding and other
padding methods [9]
References
[1] “Evolution of Football Helmets.” 2ndSkull, http://www.2ndskull.com/blogs/news/evolution-

of-football-helmets.

[2] “Football Helmet Testing: Technology and Safety Research: NTS.” National Technical

Systems, 17 June 2021, www.nts.com/ntsblog/football-helmet-testing/.

[3] Nfl. “Helmet Laboratory Testing Performance Results.” NFL.com, NFL, 26 May 2021,

www.nfl.com/playerhealthandsafety/equipment-and-innovation/equipment-testing/helmet-

laboratory-testing-performance-results.

[4] Slead 08/18/2021, Devin. “Top 5 Helmets Rated by the NFL & NFLPA.” What Pros

Wear, 18 Aug. 2021, www.whatproswear.com/football/news/top-5-helmets-rated-by-the-nfl-

nflpa/.

[5] “Standards Matrix.” NOCSAE, 1 May 2018,

www.nocsae.org/standards/standards-matrix/#/football/performance/current .

[6] Chiari, Mike. “CTE Discovered in More Than 99 Percent of Deceased NFL Players' Brains in

Study.” Bleacher Report, Bleacher Report, 3 Oct. 2017,

www.bleacherreport.com/articles/2723657-cte-discovered-in-more-than-99-percent-of-

deceased-nfl-players-brains-in-study.

[7] Bartsch A, Benzel E, Miele V, Prakash V: Impact test comparisons of 20th and 21st century

American football helmets. Laboratory investigation. J Neurosurg 116:222–233, 2012

[8] Rowson S, Daniel R, Duma S: Biomechanical performance of leather and modern football

helmets. Laboratory investigation. J Neurosurg 119:805–809, 2013

[9] Alizadeh H, Fanton M, Domel A, Grant G, Camarillo D: Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury

with Liquid Shock Absorption.