How Effectively Does Protective Sports Gear Prevent Sports Injuries?

As organized and recreational sports continue to grow in popularity, associated sports injuries increasingly burden athletes. Protective sports gear is intended to reduce injury risk during play. This article provides a comprehensive review of the mechanism and efficacy of protective sports gear in injury prevention to the head and neck, upper extremity, and lower extremity and assesses where perhaps evidence for protection is lacking. Helmets, face shields, and protective eyewear have clear benefits in structural protection against injury. The impact of sports gear in reducing sport-related concussion is more variable, largely due to the repetitive nature of the injury mechanism where cumulative low-magnitude impacts contribute to brain injury. For the upper extremity, wrist guards have a clear benefit in reducing major and minor injuries among gymnasts and snowboarders and hence by inference on other impact sports. Ankle braces and taping potentially reduce the risk of ankle sprains among athletes, and the mandating of shin guards in professional soccer results in decreased sports-related lower extremity fractures. Further research is warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of sports gear on reinjury prevention and to study the implications of sports gear on risk compensation theory in athletes.