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Concussions—essentially mild traumatic brain injuries—are among the most common injuries sustained on athletic fields. In the U.S., an estimated 3.8 million sports-related concussions occur every year. But new research by Stanford Medicine scientists and collaborators suggests that the prevailing understanding of the forces that lead to concussion may be missing the mark.

Their new study analyzed data from motion-sensing mouthguards worn by athletes in seven different sports and found that straight-line motion of the head, measured by linear acceleration, is more predictive of concussion than turning motion of the head, measured by rotational acceleration.

Linear acceleration tends to dominate when an impact force is directed to the head's center of mass. In mixed martial arts, it could be a jab between the eyes; in lacrosse, a stick striking the side of the head; and in football, a collision to the top of the head when the head is lowered, or a fall backward and the head hitting the ground.

The new findings turn nearly 85 years of dogma in the field—which held that rotational motion was the primary driver of concussions—on its head. The results, if confirmed by more studies, could have implications for helmet design and safety guidelines in sports.

"Not only is the linear acceleration predictive of concussion, the threshold is lower than people had previously thought in terms of the levels that are unsafe," said Jessica Towns, a graduate student in bioengineering and lead author of the study to be published Nov.

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