Citation

Virani S, Russell C, Bruschetta ML, Hua KN, Potvin BM, Cox D, Robinovitch SN. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 2016; 49(3): 573-580.

Affiliation

1Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada 2Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada 3School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2016, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1249/MSS.0000000000001136

PMID

27776004

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Shoulder-to-head contact is the most common cause of concussions in ice hockey, accounting for 42% of cases in the National Hockey League (NHL). The goal of this project was to determine how shoulder pad stiffness, modified by adding foam padding over the shoulder cap of existing shoulder pads, affected head impact severity when participants delivered checks to an instrumented dummy.

METHODS: Fifteen participants administered "the hardest shoulder checks they were comfortable delivering" to the head of a dummy equipped with tri-axial accelerometers and gyros mounted in its helmet. Trials were conducted with participants wearing two common types of shoulder pads, with and without a 2 cm thick layer of polyurethane foam over the shoulder pad cap.

RESULTS: When participants delivered checks with foam-modified pads versus unmodified pads, there was a decrease of 25.0% in the average peak linear head acceleration (28.73 versus 38.31 g; mean difference = 9.58 g, 95% CI: 6.35 - 12.81; p < 0.0001), and a decrease of 12.4% in the average value of peak rotational head velocity (838.0 versus 956.7 deg/s; mean difference = 118.65 deg/s, 95% CI: 55.37 - 181.94; p = 0.001). The protective benefit of the foam layer did not depend on the type of shoulder pad, or the checking scenario.

CONCLUSION: Integration of foam padding on top of the plastic caps of shoulder pads reduced impact severity to the head, and warrants further examination as a method for contributing to the prevention of brain injuries in ice hockey.

Language: en