Hawaiian High School Football Player Positional Differences in Head-Impact Characteristics

Abstract

Context: The importance of analyzing head-impact exposure among football players is well established, but few authors have explored the differences across position groups in high school athletes. Better understanding of these differences may provide optimized intervention strategies for coaches and health care providers. Objective: To compare differences in head-impact characteristics (eg, frequency, severity, and location) among position groups and differences in teams, session types, and seasons across 2 high school varsity football seasons in Hawaii. Design: Cohort study. Setting: High school athletic fields during fall sports seasons. Patients and Participants: A total of 200 football players from 3 high school varsity teams, including 69 offensive and defensive linemen; 51 linebackers, running backs, and tight ends; and 80 cornerbacks, safeties, and wide receivers (age = 16.1 ± 0.9 years, height = 177.9 ± 7.8 cm, mass = 86.4 ± 22.7 kg), categorized as linemen, backers, and skill players, respectively. Main Outcome Measure(s): Head impacts per exposure (Imp/E) across positions, teams, session type, and seasons; accumulated total impact burden; and cumulative head-impact burden per location (front, top, right, left, and back) across position groups. Results: Differences in Imp/E were found among position groups, with backers (mean = 3.77; 95% CI = 3.146, 4.395) having greater total Imp/E compared with linemen (mean = 1.47; 95% CI = 0.983, 1.96; P