'Leatherheads' Study Reveals Modern Helmet Shortcomings

Old-fashioned "leatherhead" football helmets from the early 1900s are often as effective as - and sometimes better than - modern football helmets at protecting against injuries during routine, game-like collisions, according to Cleveland Clinic researchers in Ohio.

A study published online last week by the Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine compared head injury risks of two early 20th-century leatherhead helmets with 11 top-of-the-line 21st-century polycarbonate helmets. In their biomechanics lab, Cleveland Clinic researchers conducted impact tests by crashing helmets together at severities on par with 95 percent of on-field collisions (75 G-forces or less) in collegiate and high school football games. For this study, researchers analyzed hits common in games and practices - ones that taken separately may not seem perilous, but when added together may lead to serious long-term injury.

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