When tight end George Kittle went down on the Levi’s Stadium with an Achilles rupture in the Wild Card week, the crowd went silent. Another star down, another devastating blow to the San Francisco 49ers roster that’s been dropping bodies all season. But here’s the thing: one clinician thinks this might not just be bad luck. Peter Cowan’s viral essay connected electromagnetic field exposure from an electrical substation near the Niners’ facility to their injury crisis, and the theory sparked a firestorm. In an EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview, Cowan, a board-certified clinician, sat down with Tim Wood to understand what EMF exposure could mean for the player’s long-term health.

“I’m not a doctor, and I don’t follow these kinds of injuries too closely, but I did a little research, and that kind of Achilles tear that Kittle went through can be a career–ending injury,” Cowan explained in our interview. “I don’t think in this case it probably will be, but just looking at shorter careers and long-term pain. I think about myself, everything that I went through when I was sick. That’s not any way you want to live. It’s not a good quality of life.”

Peter Cowan’s words carried weight because he has lived it. Fatigue, brain fog, and heart palpitations during exercise; EMF exposure nearly derailed his life. Recovery wasn’t quick or easy. The scary part? Soft tissue injuries show up now. But for people who go unchecked, the real damage might come decades later.

“In a way, I was lucky, and somebody who has a soft tissue injury is lucky because they have an acute injury that they can address and realize that, ‘Hey, something is going on here that I need to fix,’” says Cowan in our exclusive interview. “Whereas someone else is going to be 45-50 and have a stroke or a heart attack, and they’re just going to be gone, and they never knew there was an issue.”

As for the Niners, they’ve certainly had it rough this year. Nick Bosa suffered an ACL tear in Week 3 that ended his season. With the loss of their premium edge rusher, the Niners’ secondary hasn’t been the same this season. Offensive tackle Trent Williams has battled hamstring issues all year, missing critical games that exposed the O-Line. Running back Christian McCaffrey has pushed through back stiffness after a career-high workload. Now Kittle needs surgery following the Wild Card matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles. The injury bill? Millions in salaries and talent sitting on the sidelines.

No surprise the fanbase is looking for answers beyond just “bad luck.” The electrical substation near the Niners facility sparked Cowan’s investigation. But that was just the beginning.

“It’s not just the EMF from the substation,” Peter Cowan shared in the Essentially Sports Exclusive interview. “I read that the Niners just did a $200 million upgrade to their wireless in their facilities, and it got millimeter wave and C-band wave. People want their connectivity.”

Fans demanded better WiFi, and the franchise delivered. But these little upgrades are ultimately adding to the toll, per Cowan, who notes that the LED stadium lighting is also a major cause for concern.

“It’s the blue light from the LEDs messing with people’s circadian rhythms, which I actually think is probably the biggest factor,” Cowan warns. “The EMS from the substation would be just like the straw that broke the camel’s back on top of that, because these soft tissue injuries are happening across all sports leagues, and it’s not just the 49ers. They just happen to have it worse.”

To be fair, every modern stadium uses LED lighting, and every facility has upgraded wireless. The only difference for the 49ers is that they train and play near that substation, and Cowan believes it’s creating a perfect storm of exposure.

So what happens when players can’t escape these emissions? When every practice, every game, every recovery session exposes them to electromagnetic fields their bodies weren’t designed to handle? That’s the billion-dollar question facing NFL franchises investing in player health while simultaneously upgrading to the latest technologies.

How the Niners may already be on the road to prevention

In conversation with Tim Wood for our EssentiallySports Exclusive Interview, Peter also highlighted that these EMF emissions have long-term effects for everyone, not just athletes. But the conversation shifted when we asked him about protection strategies. The San Francisco 49ers seem to be already on top of this.

“In the third part of my essay, I mentioned that the NFL is actually ahead of the curve on some of this stuff. I don’t know if they have the same theory behind why they’re doing this stuff, but they’re on the right track,” Cowan said. “The Niners have a contract with Joovv, which is a red light panel manufacturer, and they have a whole red light room.”

The Niners had been using Joovv products since before the 2019 season began, and in 2020, they announced a partnership with the California-based company. The Niners installed a dedicated red light therapy recovery room right next to their locker room at Levi’s Stadium. Players can step in after practice, after games, whenever their bodies need help recovering. That technology became part of the team’s standard protocol before their Super Bowl run.

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“Red light makes the mitochondria produce more water,” Cowan explained the science behind it in our interview. “There are a lot of things that we can do to both reduce our exposure to these emissions and to mitigate the harm if we can’t reduce our exposure.”

The problem is, the players can use red light therapy all day long, but they’re still practicing and competing in environments saturated with electromagnetic fields. They’re still sleeping under LED lights that disrupt circadian rhythms. They’re still absorbing emissions from wireless systems that blanket every inch of modern stadiums.

The 49ers keep battling through their playoff run despite a roster held together by tape and determination. Kittle faces months of rehab, Bosa won’t rush the passer again until next season. The long-term health costs Cowan describes? Thankfully, those bills haven’t come due yet.