Casting in sport

Attempts by sports medicine professionals to return high school athletes with hand and wrist injuries to competition quickly and safely have been the source of confusion and debate on many playing fields around the country. In addition to the differing views regarding the appropriateness of playing cast usage in high school football, a debate exists among sports medicine professionals as to which material is best suited for playing cast construction. Materials used in playing cast construction should be hard enough to provide sufficient stabilization to the injured area and include adequate padding to absorb blunt impact forces. The purpose of the biomechanical portion of this investigation was to attempt to determine the most appropriate materials for use in constructing playing casts for the hand and wrist by assessing different materials for: 1) hardness using a Shore durometer, and 2) ability to absorb impact using a force platform. Results revealed that RTV11 and Scotchcast were the "least hard" of the underlying casting materials and that Temper Stick foam greatly increased the ability of RTV11 to absorb impact. Assessment of the mechanical properties of playing cast materials and review of current developments in high school football rules are used to aid practitioners in choosing the most appropriate materials for playing cast construction.