Comparison of impact characteristics of four different ice hockey arena dasher boards

During recent years the incidence of ice hockey related concussions has increased. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to determine how dasher board materials and structures affect impact characteristics and thereby concussion risk. The measurements were divided into two parts; 1. physiological characteristics of body checks were determined in real game measurements, and 2. simulation of body checks in the laboratory. Peak forces and stopping distances were determined from the high-speed camera data, and stiffness values were subsequently calculated. Dasher board materials and structures had a clear effect on impact characteristics. Flexible protective shielding material resulted in 17% and 16% lower peak forces, 110% and 136% greater stopping distances and 62% and 56% lower stiffness values in the straight and the corner parts of the dasher board, respectively, compared to the reference dasher board. However, the dasher board with flexible protective shielding material including metal shielding support posts between each shielding panel yielded inconsistent results. The shielding support posts were much stiffer compared to the protective shielding. The single-framed dasher board was found to be 29% and 11% more flexible than its dual-framed counterpart, and heavier protective shielding resulted in 33% and 19% higher element stiffness in the straight and the corner parts of the dasher board, respectively. In light of the results and the epidemiology of concussions, it seems that the most safe dasher board would be single-framed with light and flexible protective shielding material, and would not include shielding support posts.