Neuromechanics Laboratory, School of Public Health, and.
School of Medicine, University of Nevada, Reno.
J Athl Train. 2024 Jun 1;59(6):594-599. doi: 10.4085/1062-6050-0136.23.
Guardian Caps (GCs) are currently the most popular external helmet add-on designed to reduce the magnitude of head impacts experienced by American football players. Guardian Caps have been endorsed by influential professional organizations; however, few studies evaluating their efficiency are publicly available.
To present preliminary on-field head kinematics data for National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I American football players using instrumented mouthguards through closely matched preseason workouts with and without GCs.
Case series.
The 2022 American football preseason.
Twenty-five male NCAA Division I student-athletes participating in American football completed some portion of the 6 workouts included in this study. Of the 25 participants, 7 completed all 6 workouts using their instrumented mouthguards.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Peak linear acceleration (PLA), peak angular acceleration (PAA), and total impacts were collected via instrumented mouthguards during 3 preseason workouts using traditional helmets (TRAD condition) and 3 using a TRAD and GCs (GC condition). The TRAD and GC values for PLA, PAA, and total impacts were evaluated using analyses of variance.
No difference was present between the collapsed mean values for the entire sample between the TRAD and GC conditions for PLA (TRAD = 16.3g ± 2.0g, GC = 17.2g ± 3.3g, P = .20), PAA (TRAD = 992.1 ± 209.2 rad/s2, GC = 1029.4 ± 261.1 rad/s2, P = .51), or the total number of impacts (TRAD = 9.3 ± 4.7, GC = 9.7 ± 5.7, P = .72). Similarly, no difference was observed between the TRAD and GC conditions for PLA (TRAD = 16.1g ± 1.2g, GC = 17.2g ± 2.79g, P = .32), PAA (TRAD = 951.2 ± 95.4 rad/s2, GC = 1038.0 ± 166.8 rad/s2, P = .29), or total impacts (TRAD = 9.6 ± 4.2, GC = 9.7 ± 5.04, P = .32) between sessions for the 7 players who completed all 6 workouts.
These data suggested no difference in head kinematics data (PLA, PAA, and total impacts) when GCs were worn. Therefore, GCs may not be effective in reducing the magnitude of head impacts experienced by NCAA Division I American football players.
Guardian Caps（GC）目前是最受欢迎的外部头盔附加装置，旨在降低美式橄榄球运动员所经历的头部冲击的幅度。Guardian Caps 得到了有影响力的专业组织的认可；然而，很少有公开评估其效率的研究。
通过使用带有仪器的护齿器，对使用和不使用 GC 的美国国家大学体育协会（NCAA）一级美式足球运动员进行初步的场上头部运动学数据。
病例系列。
2022 年美式足球季前赛。
25 名参加美式足球的男性 NCAA 一级大学生运动员完成了本研究中包含的 6 次训练中的一部分。在 25 名参与者中，有 7 名使用他们的带仪器的护齿器完成了所有 6 次训练。
使用传统头盔（TRAD 条件）和传统头盔加 GC（GC 条件）进行 3 次季前赛训练期间，通过带有仪器的护齿器收集峰值线性加速度（PLA）、峰值角加速度（PAA）和总冲击。使用方差分析评估 PLA、PAA 和总冲击的 TRAD 和 GC 值。
在 PLA（TRAD = 16.3g±2.0g，GC = 17.2g±3.3g，P=0.20）、PAA（TRAD = 992.1±209.2 rad/s2，GC = 1029.4±261.1 rad/s2，P=0.51）或总冲击（TRAD = 9.3±4.7，GC = 9.7±5.7，P=0.72）方面，整个样本在 TRAD 和 GC 条件之间的平均值之间没有差异。同样，在 PLA（TRAD = 16.1g±1.2g，GC = 17.2g±2.79g，P=0.32）、PAA（TRAD = 951.2±95.4 rad/s2，GC = 1038.0±166.8 rad/s2，P=0.29）或总冲击（TRAD = 9.6±4.2，GC = 9.7±5.04，P=0.32）方面，7 名完成所有 6 次训练的参与者之间的 sessions 也没有差异。
这些数据表明，当佩戴 GC 时，头部运动学数据（PLA、PAA 和总冲击）没有差异。因此，GC 可能无法有效降低 NCAA 一级美式足球运动员所经历的头部冲击幅度。
