Department of Neuroscience, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston Salem, NC,USA.
LeTourneau University, Longview, TX,USA.
J Appl Biomech. 2022 Jul 6;38(4):201-209. doi: 10.1123/jab.2021-0331. Print 2022 Aug 1.
Hockey is a fast-paced sport known for body checking, or intentional collisions used to separate opponents from the puck. Exposure to these impacts is concerning, as evidence suggests head impact exposure (HIE), even if noninjurious, can cause long-term brain changes. Currently, there is limited understanding of the effect of impact direction and collision speed on HIE. Video analysis was used to determine speed and direction for 162 collisions from 13 youth athletes. These data were paired with head kinematic data collected with an instrumented mouthpiece. Relationships between peak resultant head kinematics and speeds were evaluated with linear regression. Mean athlete speeds and relative velocity between athletes ranged from 2.05 to 2.76 m/s. Mean peak resultant linear acceleration, rotational velocity, and rotational acceleration were 13.1 g, 10.5 rad/s, and 1112 rad/s2, respectively. Significant relationships between speeds and head kinematics emerged when stratified by contact characteristics. HIE also varied by direction of collision; most collisions occurred in the forward-oblique (ie, offset from center) direction; frontal collisions had the greatest magnitude peak kinematics. These findings indicate that HIE in youth hockey is influenced by speed and direction of impact. This study may inform future strategies to reduce the severity of HIE in hockey.
曲棍球是一项快节奏的运动，以身体碰撞或故意碰撞而闻名，目的是将对手与冰球分开。接触这些冲击令人担忧，因为有证据表明头部冲击暴露（HIE），即使没有造成伤害，也会导致长期的大脑变化。目前，对于冲击方向和碰撞速度对 HIE 的影响知之甚少。本研究使用视频分析确定了 13 名青年运动员的 162 次碰撞的速度和方向。这些数据与使用仪器化口内片收集的头部运动学数据相匹配。使用线性回归评估峰值头部运动学与速度之间的关系。运动员的平均速度和运动员之间的相对速度范围为 2.05 至 2.76 m/s。平均峰值线性加速度、旋转速度和旋转加速度分别为 13.1 g、10.5 rad/s 和 1112 rad/s2。按接触特征分层时，速度与头部运动学之间出现显著关系。碰撞方向也影响 HIE；大多数碰撞发生在前斜向（即偏离中心）方向；正面碰撞的运动学峰值最大。这些发现表明，青年曲棍球中的 HIE 受到冲击速度和方向的影响。本研究可能为未来在曲棍球中降低 HIE 严重程度的策略提供信息。
