Washington: A study, which has been published in the Orthopedic Journal of Sports Medicine, has found that NFL players had a two-fold greater risk of concussions when games were played at colder temperatures.
The higher injury rates occurred during games played in 50 degree Fahrenheit or colder compared to games played in temperatures of 70 degrees Fahrenheit or warmer.
The researchers did their study by analyzing all NFL injury reports issued by the league during the two regular seasons between 2012 and 2014 for all 32 teams.
During a U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce roundtable on March 14, NFL senior vice president for health and safety policy Jeff Miller broke with the league’s tradition of resisting at scientific research and accepted that there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
The researchers speculate that, at lower temperatures, both the playing field and football equipment are less elastic. So, if a player falls on the ground or a football hits a player’s helmet in colder temperatures, those collisions have a more forceful impact than in warm weather.
The researchers reason that there may be higher reporting of concussion symptoms and other injuries during colder games because players might interact more closely with athletic trainers and medical personnel in lower temperatures.
The authors of the study are all Canadian without any ties to the NFL. The authors, all concussion researchers, acknowledged that their impetus for conducting the study was the lack of research looking at external risk factors for injuries in the NFL.