This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Dr. Allen Sills, Chief Medical Officer of the NFL, to the Science for Sport Podcast. In a game renowned for its intensity, how does the league ensure player safety on and off the field? Dr. Sills pulls back the curtain on cutting-edge concussion protocols, game-changing safety innovations, and the evolution of health measures that protect athletes at every level.

From independent spotters stopping the game to the millions invested in research and equipment, discover the science and strategy reshaping one of the world’s most physically demanding sports. Dr. Sills also shares exclusive insights on the future of player safety, collaboration with global sports leagues, and how the NFL is setting new standards for health in elite sports.

Whether you’re an NFL fan, a sports scientist, or someone fascinated by the intersection of medicine and performance, this episode is packed with revelations you can’t miss.

Tune in now and join the conversation about the evolving science of saving lives in sport.

About Dr Allen Sills
Dr. Allen Sills is the NFL's Chief Medical Officer, appointed in March 2017 as the league's first CMO. A neurosurgeon specializing in athlete care, he is also a Professor of Neurological Surgery and Co-Director of the Vanderbilt Sports Concussion Center. Dr. Sills collaborates with team medical staffs, the NFL Players Association, and medical experts to enhance player health and safety through rule changes, equipment evolution, and injury reduction plans. He led the NFL's COVID-19 response and spearheaded the league's Injury Reduction Plan, achieving a 24% decrease in reported concussions in 2018. An active researcher with over 170 scientific publications, Dr. Sills is a member of the Concussion in Sport Group, setting international concussion standards.

FREE 7d SCIENCE FOR SPORT ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/SFSepisode241

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research

🔔 Subscribe to the podcast on your favourite platform

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify
• Stitcher

Specifically you will learn:

• The important of measuring impacts in Rugby
• Why mouthguards are the perfect tool to measure impacts
• How to use data to reduce injury risk and optimise collision training load

About Chris and Eoin

Chris Turner – CEO of Sports Wellbeing & Analytics (SWA)

Co-Founder and CEO of SWA since 2017 – previously Global CTO with Unilever 10 years, Executive Vice President SAP for 5 years. Role is to oversee and manage all aspects of SWA’s business and operations. The business is fundamentally a real time data business with a data collection tool currently in the form of a highly validated electronic mouthguard. You can think of us as a GPS for contact. The data which is reported live allows us to provide real insight to clubs and athletes as to what is going on. This understanding and combination of data is our strength as a business and as we work with different sports, the uses for and the value of the data just keeps growing. Clearly in rugby, we want to see all clubs follow the lead and belief that Gloucester has shown and adopt the system for the benefit of themselves and their players. But we also want to see this across all contact sports over time.

Eoin Power – Head of Medical Services – Gloucester Rugby

Fourth season as Head of medical services at Gloucester Rugby. Previously at Bristol Bears as senior physio. Originally from Dublin where I studied my primary degree in Physiology before moving to the UK to pursue Physiotherapy, first at the University of Southampton and then the University of bath. I am responsible for managing the provision of medical services to the Gloucester rugby squad and facilitate a team of 8 therapists and Doctors.

Instagram: @swaprotechtpro
Twitter: @ProtechtPro @EoinPowerPhysio

Protecht Website: https://swa.one/

FREE 7d COACH ACADEMY TRIAL

SIGN UP NOW: https://bit.ly/sfsepisode95

​ Learn Quicker & More Effectively, Freeing Up Time To Spend With Friends And Family
​ Optimise Your Athletes' Recovery
​ Position Yourself As An Expert To Your Athletes And Naturally Improve Buy-In
​ Reduce Your Athletes' Injury Ratese
​ Save 100's Of Dollars A Year That Would Otherwise Be Spent On Books, Courses And More
​ Improve Your Athletes' Performance
​ Advance Forward In Your Career, Allowing You To Earn More Money And Work With Elite-Level Athletes
​ Save Yourself The Stress & Worry Of Constantly Trying To Stay Up-To-Date With Sports Science Research

🔔 Subscribe to the podcast on your favourite platform

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify
• Stitcher

Specifically Matt will be looking at:

• The importance of diet in concussion patients
• Key nutritional recommendations
• Physiology underpinning these
• How to apply this practically

About Matt

"Matthew R. Frakes, PhD, RD, CSCS is a registered dietitian nutritionist and certified strength and conditioning specialist. Mr. Frakes is a former Division I collegiate student-athlete who completed his undergraduate and Master's degree at Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, and his Doctorate degree at the University of Mississippi, Oxford, MS. He has a wide range of experiences in sports nutrition, strength and conditioning, private practice, and healthcare settings. His passion includes enhancing athletic performance through both evidence-based research and practice-based evidence. Building upon a sports nutrition and clinical nutrition background, his research interest focuses on the impact of nutrition and dietary intake on the recovery rate of sports-related concussions. Currently, Mr. Frakes works as a Sports Nutritionist at the University of Louisville."

FREE TRIAL - COACH ACADEMY

7 Days Free at our brand new Coach Academy! The Coach Academy is a comprehensive online library of sports performance mini-courses that's updated every single week.

Sign up for free with this link:

https://bit.ly/sfspodcast_23

*

🔔 Subscribe to the podcast on your favourite platform

• Apple Podcasts
• Google Podcasts
• Spotify
• Stitcher

*

🙏🏽 Thank you to our sponsors

We'd like to say a huge thank you to our wonderful sponsors for supporting this amazing podcast.

FLEX by GymAware

Find out why VBT is such a powerful training method and what separates FLEX from the competition via the link below.

https://bit.ly/FLEX-gymaware

Hawkin Dynamics

To learn more about force plates and Hawkin Dynamics, check out their blog which is full of educational and practical blog posts.

https://bit.ly/hawkin-dynamics