Quantifying head impact exposure, mechanisms and kinematics using instrumented mouthguards in female high school lacrosse

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Declan A. Patton, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia; Colin M. Huber, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia; Daniele Fedonni, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia; Susan Margulies, Emory University; Christina L. Master, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia; Kristy B. Arbogast, Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia
• Language: English
• Date: 2022-02-25
• Publisher: TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
• Publication Version: Author Accepted Manuscript (After Peer Review)
• Copyright Statement: Rights managed by Taylor & Francis
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15438627.2022.2042294
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: RESEARCH IN SPORTS MEDICINE
• Start Page: 1
• End Page: 15
• Grant/Funding Information: This work was supported by the Pennsylvania Department of Health under Grant (SAP100077078) and the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke of the National Institutes of Health (R01NS097549 and R24NS098518). The content of this original research is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Pennsylvania Department of Health and/or the National Institutes of Health.
• Keywords: HELMETS; Science & Technology; Life Sciences & Biomedicine; MENS LACROSSE; INJURIES; concussion; EPIDEMIOLOGY; injury prevention; Sport Sciences; General sports trauma; paediatric sports medicine; head injuries; WOMENS LACROSSE; REDUCE; GIRLS; BOYS
• Research Categories: Health Sciences, Public Health; Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Abstract

Current debate exists regarding the need for protective headwear in female lacrosse. To inform this issue, the current study quantified head impact exposure, mechanisms and kinematics in female lacrosse using instrumented mouthguards. A female high school varsity lacrosse team of 17 players wore the Stanford Instrumented Mouthguard (MiG) during 14 competitive games. Video footage was reviewed to remove false-positive recordings and verify head impacts, which resulted in a rate of 0.32 head impacts per athlete-exposure. Of the 31 video-confirmed head impacts, 54.8% were identified as stick contacts, 38.7% were player contacts and 6.5% were falls. Stick contacts had the greatest peak head kinematics. The most common impact site was the side of the head (35.5%), followed by the face/jaw (25.8%), forehead (6.5%), and crown (6.5%). Impacts to the face/jaw region of the head had significantly (p < 0.05) greater peak kinematics compared to other regions of the head, which may have resulted from the interaction of the impacting surface, or the lower jaw, and the sensor. The current study provides initial data regarding the frequency, magnitude and site of impacts sustained in female high school lacrosse. A larger sample size of high quality head impact data in female lacrosse is required to confirm these findings.