Strickland John, Bevill Grant
1 University of North Florida.
J Appl Biomech. 2019 Jun 1;35(3):202-208. doi: 10.1123/jab.2018-0262. Epub 2019 May 5.
The majority of head injuries sustained during softball play are due to defensive fielders being struck by a ball. The main objective of this study was to test the impact attenuation and facial protection capabilities of fielder's masks from softball impacts. Testing with an instrumented Hybrid III headform was conducted at 2 speeds and 4 impact locations for several protective conditions: 6 fielder's masks, 1 catcher's mask, and unprotected (no mask). The results showed that most fielder's masks reduced head accelerations, but not to the standard of catcher's masks. On average, they reduced peak linear and angular acceleration from 40 mph impacts by 36% to 49% and 14% to 45%, respectively, whereas for 60 mph impacts, they were reduced by 25% to 42% and 13% to 46%, respectively. Plastic-type fielder's masks were observed to allow facial contact when struck at the nose region at high speed. A few fielder's masks performed appreciably different at certain impact locations suggesting influence from specific design features such as foam padding and frame properties. Overall, the results suggest that head/facial injuries may be mitigated through the broader use of masks, while further optimization of impact attenuation for fielder's masks is pursued.
垒球比赛中遭受的大多数头部损伤是由于防守球员被球击中所致。本研究的主要目的是测试垒球运动员面罩对垒球撞击的冲击衰减和面部保护能力。使用仪器化的Hybrid III头模在2种速度和4个撞击位置对几种防护条件进行了测试：6种外场手面罩、1种捕手面罩和无防护（不戴面罩）。结果表明，大多数外场手面罩降低了头部加速度，但未达到捕手面罩的标准。平均而言，它们将40英里/小时撞击时的峰值线性加速度和角加速度分别降低了36%至49%和14%至45%，而对于60英里/小时的撞击，它们分别降低了25%至42%和13%至46%。观察到塑料型外场手面罩在高速撞击鼻部区域时会与面部接触。一些外场手面罩在某些撞击位置的表现明显不同，这表明受到泡沫衬垫和框架特性等特定设计特征的影响。总体而言，结果表明，通过更广泛地使用面罩可以减轻头部/面部损伤，同时继续寻求对外场手面罩冲击衰减的进一步优化。
