Key result
Youth tackle football players experienced a higher overall head impact rate compared with flag football players (IRR 4.61; 95% CI 3.94-5.40).
Why the study?
Flag football is considered a limited-contact sport, but little is known about the true head impact burden compared with youth tackle football.
Does youth flag football reduce head impact frequency and magnitude compared to youth tackle football?
Population
25 tackle and 25 flag youth football players
Comparison
Youth flag football vs youth tackle football
Design
Observational cohort study
Follow-up
one season
Authors
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Flag football was associated with fewer head impacts but higher odds of large accelerations than tackle; hypothesis-generating for youth concussion prevention.
Observational (n=50)
Does youth flag football reduce head impact frequency and magnitude compared to youth tackle football?
Relative Risk: 4.61 (95% CI 3.94–5.4)
Absolute Event Rate: 3.06% vs 0.66%
Youth flag football is associated with less frequent head impacts but potentially higher rotational accelerations compared to tackle football.
Lynall et al. (2019) conducted an observational in Head impact burden (n=50). Tackle football vs. Flag football was evaluated on Overall head impact rate (IR) (IRR 4.61, 95% CI 3.94, 5.40). Youth tackle football players experienced a higher overall head impact rate compared with flag football players (IRR 4.61; 95% CI 3.94-5.40).