Early results of a helmetless-tackling intervention to decrease head impacts in football players

Abstract

Objective: To test a helmetless-tackling behavioral intervention for reducing head impacts in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I football players. Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Setting: Football field. Patients or Other Participants: Fifty collegiate football players (intervention = 25, control = 25). Intervention(s): The intervention group participated in a 5- minute tackling drill without their helmets and shoulder pads twice per week in the preseason and once per week through the season. During this time, the control group performed noncontact football skills. Main Outcome Measure(s): Frequency of head impacts was recorded by an impact sensor for each athlete-exposure (AE). Data were tested with a 2 × 3 (group and time) repeatedmeasures analysis of variance. Significant interactions and main effects (P