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A Test Bed to Examine Helmet Fit and Retention and Biomechanical Measures of Head and Neck Injury in Simulated Impact
Published on: September 21, 2017
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Equestrian Helmet Standards: Do They Represent Real-World Accident Conditions?
J Michio Clark1,2, T Blaine Hoshizaki3, Aisling Ní Annaidh1
1School of Mechanical & Materials Engineering, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
Annals of Biomedical Engineering
|May 14, 2020
Summary
Equestrian helmets need improvement as current standards fail to replicate real-world oblique impacts, leading to concussions. New turf-based testing shows helmets reduce injury but still allow concussion-level impacts.
Area of Science:
- Sports Medicine
- Biomechanics
- Traumatic Brain Injury
Background:
- Equestrian helmets reduce traumatic brain injuries, but concussions remain common.
- Current helmet standards use linear drop tests on rigid surfaces, not reflecting real-world oblique impacts on compliant surfaces common in equestrian accidents.
Purpose of the Study:
- Compare head kinematics and brain response between current (EN1) and proposed (EN2) equestrian helmet standards and real-world concussion data.
- Develop a test protocol simulating real-world equestrian concussion scenarios.
- Evaluate equestrian helmet protective capacity using proposed flat and 45° turf impact protocols.
Main Methods:
- Helmet impact tests conducted per EN1 and EN2 standards.
- Helmeted and unhelmeted impacts on flat and 45° turf anvils at 5.9-6.0 m/s for various impact locations.
- Comparison with previously published real-world concussion reconstruction data.
Main Results:
- EN1 and EN2 protocols produced higher magnitude accelerations and shorter impact durations than real-world concussive impacts.
- Turf anvil impacts generated head kinematics similar to real-world concussive impacts.
- Helmeted impacts significantly reduced rotational kinematics and brain tissue response compared to unhelmeted impacts, but remained consistent with concussion.
Conclusions:
- Current equestrian helmet standards (EN1, EN2) do not adequately represent real-world impact conditions for concussion.
- Turf-based impact testing protocols show promise for better simulating equestrian concussion scenarios.
- While helmets mitigate injury, further improvements are needed to prevent concussion in equestrian sports.
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