Eric Lindstrom Utah on the Impact of Injuries on the American Football Industry
For decades, football has been the most popular sp
For decades, football has been the most popular sport in the United States.
However, there’s been an increase in the number of players who suffer serious injuries every year, and it’s estimated that Americans are spending more than $6 billion on medical treatments as a result of injuries sustained by amateur and professional players alike.
According to Eric Lindstrom of Utah, if you work in the industry, here’s how this injury trend could affect you.
A History of Football Injuries
Football has always been a rough sport. Players have been getting injured ever since the game was invented in 1869. The injuries often result from collisions or falls on hard surfaces like concrete, or from contact with other players.
As football has become more popular, so have injuries and deaths related to it. The most common types of injuries are sprains and strains, fractures, concussions and ligament tears.
Concussions account for over 20% of all reported football-related head injuries while close to 90% are caused by player-to-player contact rather than incidental hits such as helmet collisions with goalposts, fences, or benches.
The Current State of Affairs
In recent years, the number of injuries in football has been on the rise. However, player safety isn’t just about preventing concussions and other head injuries.
It’s also about preventing less obvious injuries, such as a lower back injury or knee injury that may not be evident until much later in life.
For example, an ACL injury can lead to arthritis in your knees and a hip labral tear can lead to hip pain and arthritis. The human body is fragile, so it’s important for players to take care of themselves both on and off the field.
The Financial Impact
Injuries have had a significant impact on the professional and college football industry, as players who experience an injury often stop playing for a period of time.
The financial impact of injuries is felt by teams when they lose a player for an extended period of time or when they sign an injured player to a new contract.
One of the ways that teams deal with injuries is by signing players from other teams' practice squads, which allows them to bring in new blood without having to make a trade.
Teams also try to get injured players back on their rosters quickly, so that they can play through pain and injuries.
With the many different types of injuries that can happen, it becomes difficult for teams to know how long some players will be out of commission or what type of treatment will be most effective.
Conclusion
Eric Lindstrom is optimistic and expects to see a drop in the number of injuries going forth. This is because the NFL has made safety a top priority which means they're enforcing rules more strictly than ever before.
One of these new rules is the helmet rule where players can no longer lead with their head when making contact with an opposing player; this impacts how some running backs will be able to make cuts in order to avoid tacklers.
Hopefully, the sport will be safer than before in the near future.