Joel D. Stitzel, Ph.D.

Recent research has shown that limiting contact in football practice can reduce the number of head impacts. But what is the correct formula to lessen exposure while still developing the skills necessary to safely play the game?

To find out, researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine, a part of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, conducted a study that compared head impact exposure (HIE) in practice drills among six youth football teams and evaluated the effect of individual team practice methods on HIE.

The findings are published in the Dec. 21 online edition of the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics.

In the study, the researchers collected on-field head impact data from athletes age 10 to 13 on six North Carolina youth football teams during all practices in one season. Video was recorded and analyzed to verify and assign impact severity to specific drills using the Head Impact Telemetry System, a system of sensors embedded in football helmets to detect and record head impacts… Continue reading.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has announced the induction of Joel D. Stitzel, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Biomedical Engineering, Wake Forest School of Medicine; Associate Head, Virginia Tech – Wake Forest, School of Biomedical Engineering and Sciences, Wake Forest University, to its College of Fellows. Dr. Stitzel was nominated, reviewed, and elected by peers and members of the College of Fellows for exceptional contributions to human body computational modeling, and real world applied biomechanics.