Although the San Francisco 49ers grinded out a gutsy win against the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles over the weekend, the win did not come without cost, as the 49ers lost another key component of their team to injury, as star tight end George Kittle suffered a significant Achilles injury in the second quarter. However, even before Kittle’s injury, the buzz around the league revolved around whether or not an electrical substation positioned near the 49ers home stadium may be linked to the team’s soft tissues injuries.
Even prior to Kittle’s injury, the 49ers topped the list of the most injured team in the NFL over the past decade. Since the 2014 move to Levi’s Stadium, the 49ers have consistently ranked among the league leaders in adjusted games lost (AGL), which is a metric that quantifies the impact of injuries to starters or key players. Most notably, the team ranked dead last for AGL in 2020 and 2024 when their injury burden far exceeded league average.
Many initially wrote the injuries off as fluke. Then, questions arose about the training staff and conditioning programs. But now, a new theory may actually shine light on the 49ers injury situation.
EMF Wave Transmission And Injury Rates
Peter Cowan recently decided to investigate a theory that had been circulating around the 49ers locker room for years – that a nearby electrical substation played a role in the teams’ injury rates. During his investigation, Cowan walked around the team’s practice fields, located a little over 100 yards from Silicon Valley Power’s Mission Substation. He turned on a gaussmeter and found that readings were much higher than what may be seen if measured at an average American household. Readings could be even higher in the facilities where players lift, watch film and recover. This lead Cowan to surmise that this chronic exposure to extremely low-frequency (ELF) magnetic fields could be having a physical impact on the 49ers.
Dr. Silverman Comments
This research is pretty crazy, but it’s rooted in sound science. We know that EMF has effects on human tissues. In the medical world, we can use it to help signal bones to heal in patients with delayed and non-unions. We also know that EMF can help decease pain and inflammation. So it’s not crazy to assume that since EMF needs to be properly delivered to achieve positive results (to effect the cells correctly at the nuclear level to induce the desired change) that EMF in excess can affect cells negatively.
Could it be that EMF are weakening cellular structure and collagen strength in players who have chronic exposure to these magnetic fields? Certainly. We can’t say for fact that it is absolutely the case, but the evidence seems to suggest more testing and studies are warranted. Injuries have derailed many playoff runs for San Francisco over the last decade, and they are once again facing an uphill playoff battle with a depleted squad. We’ll certainly be following their playoff run and the additional testing that is sure to come in wake of this new theory. Not only could it provide answers to the 49ers, but it could improve our medical knowledge as a whole, and that’s a win for everyone.
If you’re dealing with a soft tissue injury in your foot or ankle, connect with Dr. Silverman and his team for assistance overcoming the injury. You can connect with his office by clicking here.