Movement Analysis Laboratory, Rizzoli Orthopedic Institute, Bologna, Italy.
Department of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Sports Biomech. 2020 Jun;19(3):382-394. doi: 10.1080/14763141.2018.1481222. Epub 2018 Jul 13.
Head and neck injuries are common in contact sports such as American football. Different mechanisms can produce such injuries, including compressive impact forces on the crown of the helmet with the neck in a flexed chin-down position. The aim of this paper was developing and testing a novel Cervical Spine Protection Device (CSPD) designed to keep the neck within its safe physiological range. The cervical spine range of motion (ROM) of ten participants was measured under four conditions: free; wearing a football gear; wearing the CSPD; and wearing the CSPD underneath the gear. The CSPD was tested in terms of passive and active restraint of head motion, and for its capability to improve endurance time of the neck extensor muscles. Wearing the CSPD resulted in a significant 40-60% reduction in ROM across the three anatomical planes, and in increased endurance of the neck extensor muscles (FREE: 114 ± 57 s; CSPD: 214 ± 95 s; = 0.004). In quasi-static loading conditions the CSPD was capable of keeping the neck within its physiological range, thus it may be used to decrease the risk of severe injuries due to dangerous chin-down positions.
头部和颈部损伤在美式橄榄球等接触性运动中很常见。不同的机制会导致这些损伤，包括在颈部弯曲低头位置时，头盔顶部受到压缩冲击。本文旨在开发和测试一种新型的颈椎保护装置（CSPD），以保持颈部在安全的生理范围内。在四种情况下测量了十名参与者的颈椎活动范围（ROM）：自由；穿着橄榄球装备；佩戴 CSPD；以及在装备下佩戴 CSPD。CSPD 测试了其对头部运动的被动和主动限制，以及其提高颈部伸肌耐力的能力。佩戴 CSPD 可使三个解剖平面的 ROM 显著减少 40-60%，并且颈部伸肌的耐力增加（FREE：114 ± 57 s；CSPD：214 ± 95 s；= 0.004）。在准静态加载条件下，CSPD 能够使颈部保持在生理范围内，因此它可用于降低因危险的低头位置而导致严重损伤的风险。
