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The Effect of Shoulder Pad Design on Head Impact Severity during Checking
Shane Virani1, Colin N Russell, Megan L Bruschetta
11Department of Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, CANADA; 2Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, CANADA; and 3School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, CANADA.
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise
|October 25, 2016
Summary
Adding foam padding to ice hockey shoulder pads significantly reduces head impact severity. This simple modification can help prevent concussions and brain injuries in players.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Biomechanics
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Shoulder-to-head contact is the primary cause of concussions in ice hockey, representing 42% of National Hockey League cases.
- Understanding factors that mitigate head impact severity is crucial for player safety.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of modified shoulder pad stiffness on head impact severity.
- To determine if adding foam padding to shoulder pads can reduce the forces transmitted to the head during checks.
Main Methods:
- Fifteen participants performed shoulder checks on an instrumented dummy head wearing a helmet.
- Impact data was collected using the dummy's triaxial accelerometers and gyros.
- Checks were performed with standard shoulder pads and with pads augmented by a 2-cm polyurethane foam layer.
Main Results:
- Foam-modified pads decreased average peak linear head acceleration by 25.0% (28.73g vs 38.31g).
- Average peak rotational head velocity decreased by 12.4% with foam-modified pads (838.0°·s vs 956.7°·s).
- The observed protective effect was consistent across different pad types and checking scenarios.
Conclusions:
- Integrating foam padding onto shoulder pad caps effectively reduces head impact severity.
- This modification presents a promising, easily implementable strategy for preventing brain injuries in ice hockey.
- Further research into this protective measure is warranted.
