How Football Tech May Change the Game for Head Injuries

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The Wall Street Journal

Technology

4.4 • 1.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 February 2023

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When the game clock starts, football players aren’t just heading out with their pads and a game plan. Technology like helmet sensors that track the hits players take are becoming more common, especially for young players. They’re being used to figure out when a player might be at risk for a concussion or another brain injury. The data collected is helping researchers and doctors learn more about what happens to the brain over time. But could these innovations and research shape how we play football? Further reading: Tua Tagovailoa Is in the NFL’s Concussion Protocols Again - WSJ Severity, Not Frequency, Sets Football Injuries Apart - WSJ NFL and Nike Court a New Football Market: Girls - WSJ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	We are drowning in plastic.
0:03.0	But what if instead of throwing it away, we could make old plastics into something useful?
0:08.0	How, you ask?
0:10.0	Check out the future of everything podcast from The Wall Street Journal.
0:20.0	America, land of apple pie, blue jeans, and football.
0:27.0	Whether you played Pee Wee, went to Friday night high school games growing up,
0:31.0	or even if you follow college or professional ball.
0:39.0	But playing the game comes with risks.
0:41.0	This past season sparked a big discussion around the health of Miami Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tunga Veloa.
0:48.0	In September, he took a violent hit to the head during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals
0:54.0	and was taken off the field in a stretcher to be evaluated.
0:57.0	This prompted the NFL in October to update its process for evaluating concussions.
1:02.0	Three months after the hit he took in the game against the Bengals,
1:05.0	he was evaluated after a game against the Green Bay Packers,
1:08.0	when he discussed possible concussion symptoms with doctors.
1:19.0	Tunga Veloa missed the dolphins' final few regular season games,
1:22.0	and as for next season, the general manager for the Miami Dolphins said at a press conference in January
1:28.0	that he fully expects Tunga Veloa back 100% ready to go.
1:32.0	A person familiar with the matter confirmed that Tunga Veloa has been cleared
1:36.0	from the NFL's concussion protocol.
1:39.0	The NFL didn't comment on his injuries and pointed to its official review of Tunga Veloa's earlier incident.
1:44.0	The NFL Players Association said it can't share private medical information about its players.
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