Is a power plant really behind 49ers’ injury woes? Experts weigh in on ‘crackpot’ theory

The list of players who have ended up on the injured reserve in recent years is so long, so star-studded that the San Francisco 49ers faithful have had it.

They’ve resorted to online conspiracy theories.

The low-frequency electromagnetic waves produced by a power plant neighboring Levi’s Stadium are apparently to blame for the 49ers’ injury woes, a recent viral social media thread alleges. There is, in fact, some basis to the idea that electromagnetic waves can affect the human body, explained Dr. Nirav Pandya.

As a sports orthopedic surgeon at UC San Francisco, he has used them before. To help treat injuries, ranging from rotator cuff tears to bone fractures.

“There is definitely at least basic science research that suggests electromagnetic fields can potentially help healing,” Pandya said. “Unless you’re sitting in a lab and overexposing yourself, the (idea) that it would be detrimental and affect an entire team would be pretty remarkable.”

That is, however, precisely the premise of an idea that has taken hold among fans — and some players — of one of the NFL’s most injury-riddled teams.

After George Kittle became the latest 49ers star to see his season ended by injury, tearing his Achilles in their wild-card round win at Philadelphia, a post on the social media site X tying the team’s injury woes to a “massive electrical substation” next to their stadium and practice fields gained traction. It echoed a post from another user in October that was quickly shot down.

As of this writing, the post by Peter Cowan, a wellness entrepreneur with about 6,000 followers and a Substack blog, had been seen by 22 million users, garnered 35,000 likes and been reposted more than 5,800 times. He previously used the profile mostly to promote his app that hails the healing properties of sunlight.

The theory, which claims “low-frequency electromagnetic fields can degrade collagen, weaken tendons, and cause soft-tissue damage,” has spread as far as the Niners locker room. Wide receiver Kendrick Bourne quipped recently, “Yeah, it’s that power plant,” when he was asked about the toll of the team’s trouble staying healthy.

What “scares” Dr. Michael Hoff isn’t whether Cowan is right or wrong, he said, “I think crazy theories are fine. … But like, the fact that the rest of the world kind of goes, ‘Oh, maybe that’s true.’ That’s a scary thing. But that’s more about the internet.”

As the director of diagnostic medical physics in UCSF’s radiology department, Hoff called the idea “very, very crackpot” but he added, “That’s not to say something that hasn’t been proven doesn’t exist.”

Huff identified two “huge jumps” Cowan makes in his claim.

First, he questioned Cowan’s method of measurement. The earth’s magnetic field ranges from 250-650 milligauss (mG). Cowan uses a device that recorded a reading of around 8.5-9.0 mG above normal from the perimeter of the Niners practice facility, a hundred yards or so from the power plant. That amounts to a “tiny, tiny little extra amount of magnetic field,” Hoff said.

“Second of all, even if you multiplied it by a million and centered it in Levi’s Stadium, would it even damage tissue? There’s no evidence of that, either.”

According to the World Health Organization, “most scientists and clinicians agree that any health effects of low-level electromagnetic fields, if they exist at all, are likely to be very small compared to other health risks that people face in everyday life.”

Dr. Joel Moskowitz, a UC Berkeley researcher who serves on the International Commission on the Biological Effects of Electromagnetic Fields, acknowledged that the theory laid out by Cowan is “not the most likely risk factor” to the 49ers’ injuries but wasn’t willing to write it off.

“I believe there is some credence to this theory,” he said. “Conventional wisdom is that none of this stuff can harm you, but that’s just BS in my point of view.”

While the EPA states “scientific studies have not consistently shown whether exposure to any source of EMF increases cancer risk,” Moskowitz cited a study that found increased leukemia risk in children at exposures as low as 4.0 mG and pointed to a meta-analysis of 345 studies since 1990 that found “significant adverse effects from exposure to … extremely low frequency and static electromagnetic fields.”

Most of the work, however, pertains to cancer risk. There is less evidence to back up Cowan’s claim that “the magnetic fields pouring out of the substation … trigger a multi-pathway assault on collagen,” weakening tendons and soft tissue.

Injury data does back up what we’ve seen with our own eyes: The Niners have been one of the least-healthy teams in the NFL. According to Sports Info Solutions’ analysis, only the Cardinals and Commanders were more impacted by injuries this season. Dating back to 2016, the year before Kyle Shanahan was hired as head coach, the 49ers’ 1,970 cumulative games lost on IR are the most in the NFL, according to analysis TruMedia conducted for SFGate.

However, when San Francisco made the Super Bowl in 2023-24, it was one of the league’s healthiest teams. And some of the team’s most serious losses, whether it be Fred Warner’s broken ankle or Brock Purdy’s turf toe, “have nothing to do with collagen or soft tissue,” Pandya, the orthopedic surgeon, said. “It’s football. It’s violent.”

Shanahan’s smash-mouth style on offense — and a defense focused on reacting and tackling at maximum effort — is one reason some have speculated could lead to injury. Players themselves cited turf issues at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium for a game that saw two 49ers tear their ACLs. San Francisco ranked eighth overall out of 32 teams on the NFL Players’ Association’s latest satisfaction survey, but its training room and training staff received the worst marks, both among the bottom third in the league.

The substation, which is owned and operated by Silicon Valley Power, has been there since 1986, three years before the team moved its headquarters and practice facility to the same site. The city considered moving the power plant when Levi’s Stadium was constructed but opted only to reconfigure it at the same location.

Former 49ers Jon Feliciano and Taybor Pepper have said the nearby substation had been a topic of discussion in the locker room long before Cowan’s post on Jan. 6, and Bourne made it clear that the current group has at least seen the recent discourse online. The Washington Post surveyed about two dozen NFL agents this week, roughly one-third of whom reported hearing concerns from their clients about the power plant.

With an NFC divisional playoff showdown set for Saturday in Seattle, the 49ers will be without Kittle, All-Pro defensive end Nick Bosa and in all likelihood Warner, in addition to a handful of other onetime starters. At least wide receiver Ricky Pearsall, who missed last week’s game with a nagging PCL strain, is trending toward returning against the Seahawks.

As for the unlikely explanation for why the 49ers will be so undermanned, the organization declined to weigh in. The City of Santa Clara, which owns Silicon Valley Power, did not respond to requests for comment.

“It’s just so hard to make the argument that this is the sole reason why they have more injuries,” Pandya said of the substation theory. “Particularly when there’s not even basic science data that suggests that this level of exposure could cause it.”