The University of the National Football League: How Technology, Injury Surveillance, and Health Care Have Improved the Safety of America's Game

Matthew J. Matava, Simon Görtz

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

American football has become one of the most popular sports in the United States. Despite the millions of players at all levels of competition who gain the physical, social, and psychological rewards that football provides, many interested stakeholders continue to ask, Is football safe? Although there are only approximately 1,700 players on National Football League (NFL) rosters, the injuries they sustain have garnered the most attention-and criticism-from the national media. Increased public awareness of the injury potential football possesses has led to an open debate and a major shift in public sentiment over the past 5 years. Although no sport is perfectly safe, the question is whether it can be made relatively safe and if the long-term consequences are worth the risk. This article reviews the methods by which one sports league-the NFL-has used advances in medical technology and injury surveillance to improve the health and safety of its players.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)370-378
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Knee Surgery
Volume29
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 1 2016

Keywords

  • NFL
  • football
  • health care
  • injury surveillance
  • technology

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