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Football is back, and with it comes the return of the NFL’s most hotly debated play—the “Tush Push.” A team of biomedical engineers at the ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ is bringing science into the conversation, using advanced technology to examine the potential injury risks associated with this controversial move.

Led by Assistant Professor Cherice Hill from the Department of Biomedical Engineering, the is studying joint biomechanics in high-impact sports like football. With help from ÌìÃÀÊÓƵ football players, the research team employed motion capture technology, pressure-sensing insoles, and advanced data analysis techniques to better understand how the lower body behaves during the Tush Push.

What Is the Tush Push?

Popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles, the Tush Push is a variation of the quarterback sneak in which players push the quarterback from behind to gain short yardage. The play has sparked heated debate across the league this offseason, with questions surrounding its safety and calls for it to be banned.

That controversy is what prompted the Hill Lab to take a closer look at the biomechanics of the play.

Engineering Meets the Gridiron

The Hill Biomechanics Lab specializes in the study of the temporomandibular and lower extremity joints, with a focus on diverse and inclusive approaches to biomechanical research. Dr. Hill and her team use a range of high-tech tools—3D motion capture, force and pressure sensors, inertial measurement units, electromyography, and computational modeling—to study how joint movement varies across different populations.

By partnering with UR football players, the lab was able to analyze movements involved in not just the Tush Push, but also jumping, cutting, and sprinting—key actions in any football game.

Using markerless motion capture systems—high-speed video cameras set up around the field—and XSensor pressure insoles, researchers were able to reconstruct the athletes' motion and track center-of-pressure, estimated load, and joint angles during each movement. This enabled them to measure the power, moments, and work generated at each joint—critical data for assessing both injury risk and athletic performance.

"With this information, we can interpret the angles and power generation at each joint,” said Dr.Hill. “That’s directly related to both injury risk and performance.” 

This project has provided valuable hands-on research opportunities for students—including Christina Kyriacou, a senior BME student, who appears in the video describing the tools and techniques used in the study. Christina and other students played key roles in data collection and analysis, helping translate complex biomechanics into meaningful insights for sports safety.

Early Findings and Next Steps

Alyson March, a postdoctoral associate in the Hill Lab, has been closely involved in the data analysis and interpretation.

“We can’t exactly say whether it poses additional injury risks compared to other plays,” said March. “We can say from initial results it looks like the tush push resembles, at least from the lower body perspective, other quarterback sneaks or similiar plays.”

Still, the team acknowledges that more data is needed—and they’re not alone.

“Our lab and many other labs out there are currently working to overcome the limitations of current technologies to create the best possible training for these athletes to prevent injury.”

As the Tush Push continues to spark debate across the NFL, the Hill Lab is helping to ground the conversation in science—providing critical insights into one of football’s most high-impact plays.