American football is a sport where athletes are exposed to high velocity contact with other players. Rose Bowl 2017, the biggest game of American college football, how safe are this year's players?
American college football is one of the most popular games in the country. Millions of fans stay glued to their TV sets during matches. But will sports science take the fun out of the game?
In 2016, physicians, concussion researches, athletic trainers, football coaches, university administrators and sports medicine organization representatives took part in a summit by the NCAA Sports Science Institute and College Athletic Trainers Society.
Researchers presented data related to concussion, exposure to contact during football games and practice, and accurate measurements of head impact with the use of accelerometers.
As a result of these studies, updates have been made to the guidelines. The researchers were able to provide initial findings from the 25 million data that their study had collected and will provide a thorough analysis of the data.
Although football and concussion were the primary topic of the summit, the group also discussed brain and spine injuries, heat exhaustion and cardiac events as was reported in an article by NCAA. Some of the guidelines may be implemented and will be in practice during Rose Bowl 2017.
President Obama had called for change for football in college. According to him, the game may become a little exciting, but will be safer for the players.
The president went on to state the difference between professional athletes of the National Football League to college football players. He said that the NFL players have unions and they are grown men.
The professional players are well compensated and have fall backs when things go wrong. He further discussed that college football athletes are exposed to the same risks, but they have nothing to fall back on as was reported in ESPN.
