Coaching & PE, Sport & Exercise Science

Rugby headgear and mouthguards offer little protection against concussion

Existing headgear and mouth guards have limited or no benefit in reducing concussions in rugby players, according to research published in the journal Neurosurgery.

However, educational injury prevention programmes that promote proper playing techniques and enforcement of the rules do result in a significant reduction in concussions and head, neck and spinal injuries, according to researcher Dr Michael Cusimano of St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto.

He still recommends rugby players wear mouth guards and protective headgear because of the strong evidence they reduce mouth and face injuries and scalp lacerations and abrasions.

the report states that equipment companies should be encouraged to develop more sophisticated headgear that could reduce injury risk. Current rugby headgear is soft-shelled, has thin padding and is primarily designed to protect the ears and the back of the head.

“A large number of players, coaches and referees believe that equipment such as mouth guards and headgears may prevent brain injuries in rugby,” Dr. Cusimano said.

“Our study was the first to summarize what did and what did not work. Equipment such as headgear and mouth guards are ineffective at preventing neurological injuries, but other strategies, such as education and rule changes, have been shown to be effective.”

He went on “These sorts of strategies should be made available to all rugby players so that these athletes can spend more time playing on the field than recovering off it.”

Source: Medical News Today

This entry was posted in: Coaching & PE, Sport & Exercise Science
Tagged with: ,

by

Human Kinetics is the world's leading information provider on physical activity and health. This blog is operated by the European division of Human Kinetics, based in Leeds in the United Kingdom. In this blog we aim to bring you our latest products, news on our existing products and articles and information on health, exercise, fitness, PE, nutrition and much, much more.

1 Comment

  1. Mark Picot says

    A stricter rule on oral appliances may help reduce the problem of MTBI in sports. At this point college and H.S. sports are mandated to wear mouth guards, but there is none in the NFL and NHL. Boxing may hold the key in the “boxers glass jaw”, what is it and what is the physiological change in an individual who become prone to “glass jaw” trauma. http://www.mahercor.com

    Copy and paste

    http://www.mahercor labs.com/pdf/Dental_ Traumatology%20Publi cation.pdf

    http://fourthandgoa lunites.com/2010/07/ 21/nfl-and-nfl-playe rs-association-ne
    ed-to-mandate-the- use-of-mouth-gaurds/

    http://fourthandgoa lunites.com/2010/02/ 24/why-is-the-mouth- guard-not-a-manda
    tory-piece-of-equi pment-in-the-nfl/

    http://www.kansasci ty.com/2009/11/05/15 52026/cassels-secret -weapon-against.h
    tml

    http://www.usajunio rhockey.com/archives /USAJHM_Sept_09_12_2 4.pdf

Comments are closed.