Padded Helmet Shell Covers in American Football: A Comprehensive Laboratory Evaluation with Preliminary On-Field Findings

Cecchi, Nicholas J.; Callan, Ashlyn A.; Watson, Landon P.; Liu, Yuzhe; Zhan, Xianghao; Vegesna, Ramanand V; Pang, Collin; Flao, Enora Le; Grant, Gerald A.; Zeineh, Michael; Camarillo, David B.

doi:10.1007/s10439-023-03169-2

Cited by 3 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…Further, we aimed to examine the helmet location of sustained impact (e.g., front, side, top, or rear of helmet) in addition to gameplay characteristics to elucidate if contextual factors from football participation affect the efficacy of soft-shell padding. Like preceding reports [7,8], we hypothesized that soft-shell padding would not reduce head impact severity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

“…Future studies among various age ranges utilizing additional protective equipment such as instrumented mouthpieces may be able to differentiate Guardian Cap efficacy across various helmet makes and models. We were also unable to examine linebackers, a position group included in the NFL mandate and included in prior studies [7,8]. It is unknown if our findings are generalizable to this position group because of differing positional roles and overall RHIE [17].…”

Section: Implications For Injury Preventionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…Quigley et al recently observed no significant differences in PLA or PRA among seven players who participated in three practices without a Guardian Cap compared to three practices with the Guardian Cap [8]. Similarly, five linebackers with traditional helmets across 13 practices in 2019 sustained head impacts of equivocal severity when compared to five linebackers using the Guardian Cap across 14 practices during the 2021 season [7]. Although both studies were able to appropriately video-confirm head impacts, video review can also open the aperture to examining the influence of other gameplay characteristics that might influence head impact kinematics.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…As such, understanding how personal protective equipment can effectively reduce head impact severity in football is a primary interest for clinical researchers, healthcare providers, and sport administrators. Soft-shell padding has emerged to potentially reduce head impact severity and concussion risk in a variety of contact and collision sports including rugby [5], soccer [6], and American football [7,8]. The Guardian Cap is a type of soft-shell padding that is affixed to a standard American football helmet and is intended to attenuate forces before being transmitted to the helmet.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Efficacy of Guardian Cap Soft-Shell Padding on Head Impact Kinematics in American Football: Pilot Findings

Sinnott,

Chandler,

Van Dyke

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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Sport-related concussion prevention strategies in collision sports are a primary interest for sporting organizations and policy makers. After-market soft-shell padding purports to augment the protective capabilities of standard football helmets and to reduce head impact severity. We compared head impact kinematics [peak linear acceleration (PLA) and peak rotational acceleration (PRA)] in athletes wearing Guardian Cap soft-shell padding to teammates without soft-shell padding. Ten Division I college football players were enrolled [soft-shell padding (SHELL) included four defensive linemen and one tight end; non-soft-shell (CONTROL) included two offensive linemen, two defensive linemen, and one tight end]. Participants wore helmets equipped with the Head Impact Telemetry System to quantify PLA (g) and PRA (rad/s2) during 14 practices. Two-way ANOVAs were conducted to compare log-transformed PLA and PRA between groups across helmet location and gameplay characteristics. In total, 968 video-confirmed head impacts between SHELL (n = 421) and CONTROL (n = 547) were analyzed. We observed a Group x Stance interaction for PRA (F1,963 = 7.21; p = 0.007) indicating greater PRA by SHELL during 2-point stance and lower PRA during 3- or 4-point stances compared to CONTROL. There were no between-group main effects. Protective soft-shell padding did not reduce head impact kinematic outcomes among college football athletes.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Section: Implications For Injury Preventionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Efficacy of Guardian Cap Soft-Shell Padding on Head Impact Kinematics in American Football: Pilot Findings

Sinnott,

Chandler,

Van Dyke

et al. 2023

IJERPH

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The Impact of Drop Test Conditions on Brain Strain Location and Severity: A Novel Approach Using a Deep Learning Model

Stilwell,

Stitt,

Alexander

et al. 2024

Ann Biomed Eng

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In contact sports such as rugby, players are at risk of sustaining traumatic brain injuries (TBI) due to high-intensity head impacts that generate high linear and rotational accelerations of the head. Previous studies have established a clear link between high-intensity head impacts and brain strains that result in concussions. This study presents a novel approach to investigating the effect of a range of laboratory controlled drop test parameters on regional peak and mean maximum principal strain (MPS) predictions within the brain using a trained convolutional neural network (CNN). The CNN is publicly available at https://github.com/Jilab-biomechanics/CNN-brain-strains. The results of this study corroborate previous findings that impacts to the side of the head result in significantly higher regional MPS than forehead impacts. Forehead impacts tend to result in the lowest region-averaged MPS values for impacts where the surface angle was at 0° and 45°, while side impacts tend to result in higher regional peak and mean MPS. The absence of a neck in drop tests resulted in lower regional peak and mean MPS values. The results indicated that the relationship between drop test parameters and resulting regional peak and mean MPS predictions is complex. The study’s findings offer valuable insights into how deep learning models can be used to provide more detailed insights into how drop test conditions impact regional MPS. The novel approach used in this paper to predict brain strains can be applied in the development of better methods to reduce the brain strain resulting from head accelerations such as protective sports headgear.

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Preliminary Examination of Guardian Cap Head Impact Kinematics Using Instrumented Mouthguards

Quigley,

Hopfe,

Fenner

et al. 2024

Journal of Athletic Training

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Context Guardian Caps (GCs) are currently the most popular external helmet-add on designed to reduce the head impact magnitude experienced by American football players. GCs have been endorsed by influential professional organizations, however few studies evaluating the efficacy of GCs are publicly available. Objective The objective of this study is to present preliminary on-field head kinematics data for NCAA Division I American football players using instrumented mouthguards through closely matched pre-season workouts both with and without GCs. Design Case Series Setting The study took place during the 2022 American football pre-season Patients or Other Participants 25 Male NCAA Division I student-athletes participating in American football completed some portion of the 6 workouts included in this study. Of the 25 total participants, 7 completed all 6 workouts using their instrumented mouthguards. Main Outcome Measure(s) The peak linear acceleration (PLA), peak angular acceleration (PAA) and total impacts were collected using instrumented mouthguards (iMG) during 3 pre-season workouts using traditional helmets (TRAD), and 3 with Guardian Caps used in additional to a traditional helmet (GC). The TRAD and GC values for PLA, PAA and total impacts were analyzed using ANOVAs. Results There was no significant difference between the collapsed mean values for the entire sample between TRAD and GC for PLA (TRAD=16.3±2.0, GC=17.2±3.3Gs; p=0.20), PAA (TRAD=992.1±209.2, GC=1029.4±261.1rad/s2; p=0.51 and the total amount of impacts (TRAD=9.3±4.7, GC=9.7±5.7; p=0.72). Similarly, no difference was observed between TRAD and GC for PLA (TRAD=16.1±1.2, GC=17.2±2.79Gs; p=0.32), PAA (TRAD=951.2±95.4, GC=1038.0±166.8rad/s2; p=0.29 and total impacts (TRAD=9.6±4.2, GC=9.7±5.04s; p=0.32) between sessions for the7 repeated players. Conclusions These data suggest no difference in head kinematics data (PLA, PAA and total impacts) when GCs are worn. This study suggests GCs may not be effective in reducing the magnitude of head impacts experienced by NCAA Division I American football players.

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Padded Helmet Shell Covers in American Football: A Comprehensive Laboratory Evaluation with Preliminary On-Field Findings

Cited by 3 publications

References 47 publications

Efficacy of Guardian Cap Soft-Shell Padding on Head Impact Kinematics in American Football: Pilot Findings

Efficacy of Guardian Cap Soft-Shell Padding on Head Impact Kinematics in American Football: Pilot Findings

The Impact of Drop Test Conditions on Brain Strain Location and Severity: A Novel Approach Using a Deep Learning Model

Preliminary Examination of Guardian Cap Head Impact Kinematics Using Instrumented Mouthguards

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