Rugby players can almost halve the force transferred to their head during “an impact” by wearing protective headgear, according to a study from the University of Dundee.
A team from the university’s Institute of Motion Analysis & Research (Imar) has called headguards to become mandatory at all levels of the game. The call comes after a finding that some mainstream products mitigated impact levels on the head by up to 47 per cent.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that even the least effective headguard tested could make a significant difference in preventing injuries such as concussion.
Prof Rami Abboud, director of Imar, said the study makes a “compelling case” for players to be made wear protective headgear at amateur and professional grades.
“The issue of head injuries in rugby, such as concussion, has become increasingly prevalent in recent years, with players often exposed to extreme forces, particularly at the professional level of the game,” he said.
“You cannot avoid injuries in contact sport and we are not saying that headgear would eradicate head injuries. But this research has shown just how significant a difference these products can make in helping to minimise the risk that rugby players face on the field.”
Concussion threshold
Mid-priced (€28.50 – €48) products from seven manufacturers were selected for the trial, with the devices exposed to drop tests producing forces of more than 103g, the closest acceleration to the upper limit of the proposed concussion threshold of 100g.
While each of the tested headguards demonstrated a significant reduction in the force placed on the head, Canterbury’s Ventilator headguard was found to be the most effective, cutting the impact force on average by 47 per cent . The least effective of the headguards in the trial was the XBlades Elite, averaging a force reduction of 27 per cent.
Final-year medicine student Erin Frizzell, the study’s lead author, said that she had been surprised at the effectiveness of all of the products tested.
“Across the range the effectiveness was greater than I thought it would be, though the difference of 20 per cent protection between the best and worst performing was also an eye opener,” she said.
“The regulations set by World Rugby on headgear are very strict. They can’t be over a certain thickness, the materials they are made of have to be under a certain density and they are marketed as a means of preventing scrapes and abrasions, not concussion.
“While the best performing device that we tested was 47 per cent effective, it would be interesting to see if we could improve protection levels further if these rules were relaxed.”
