Abstract
In ice hockey, concussions can occur as a result of many different types of impact events, however hockey helmets are certified using a single injury scenario, involving drop tests to a rigid surface. The purpose of this study is to measure the protective capacity of ice hockey helmets for different impact events in ice hockey. A helmeted and unhelmeted Hybrid III headform were impacted simulating falls, elbow, shoulder and puck impacts in ice hockey. Linear and rotational acceleration and maximum principal strain (MPS) were measured. A comparison of helmeted and unhelmeted impacts found significant differences existed in most conditions (p < 0.05), however some shoulder and puck impacts showed no significant difference (p > 0.05). Impacts to the ice hockey helmet tested resulted in acceleration levels below reported ranges of concussion and TBI for falls up to 5 m/s, elbow collisions, and low velocity puck impacts but not for shoulder collisions or high velocity puck impacts and falls. The helmet tested reduced MPS below reported ranges of concussion and TBI for falls up to 5 m/s but not for the other impact events across all velocities and locations. This suggests that the ice hockey helmet tested is unable to reduce engineering parameters below reported ranges of concussion and TBI for impact conditions which do not represent a drop against a rigid surface.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Agel, J., R. Dick, B. Nelson, S. W. Marshall, and T. P. Dompier. Descriptive epidemiology of collegiate women’s ice hockey injuries: National collegiate athletic association injury surveillance system, 2000-2001 through 2003-2004. J. Athl. Train. 42(2):249–254, 2007.
Agel, J., T. P. Dompier, R. Dick, and S. W. Marshall. Descriptive epidemiology of collegiate men’s ice hockey injuries: National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance System, 1988–1989 through 2003–2004. J. Athl. Train. 42(2):241–248, 2007.
Brainard, L. L., J. G. Beckwith, J. J. Chu, J. J. Crisco, T. W. McAllister, A. Duhaime, A. C. Maerlender, and R. M. Greenwald. Gender differences in head impacts sustained by collegiate ice hockey players. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 44(2):297–304, 2012.
Canadian Standards Association. (2009). Ice Hockey Helmets. Z262.1-09. Mississauga, ON
Coulson, N. R., S. G. Foreman, and T. B. Hoshizaki. Translational and rotational accelerations generated during reconstructed ice hockey impacts on a hybrid III head form. J. ASTM Int. 6(2):1–8, 2009.
Delaney, J. S. Mechanisms of injury for concussions in university football, ice hockey, and soccer. Clin. J. Sport Med. 24(3):233–237, 2014.
Deng, Y. C. Anthropomorphic dummy neck modeling and injury considerations. Accid. Anal. Prev. 21(1):85–100, 1989.
Doorly, M. C. Investigations into head injury criteria using numerical reconstruction of real life accident cases. PhD thesis. Dublin: University College Dublin, 2007.
Doorly, M. C., and M. D. Gilchrist. The use of accident reconstruction for the analysis of traumatic brain injury due to head impacts arising from falls. Comput. Methods Biomech. Biomed. Eng. 9(6):371–377, 2006.
Doorly, M. C., and M. D. Gilchrist. Three-dimensional multibody dynamics analysis of accidental falls resulting in traumatic brain injury. Int. J. Crashworthines 14:503–509, 2009.
Emery, C. A., and W. H. Meeuwisse. Injury rates, risk factors, and mechanisms of injury in minor hockey. Am. J. Sports Med. 34:1960–1969, 2006.
Fahlstedt, M., K. Baeck, P. Halldin, J. Van Der Sloten, J. Goffin, B. Depreitere, and S. Kleiven S. Influence of impact velocity and angle in a detailed reconstruction of a bicycle accident. In: IRCOBI Conference, 2012, pp. 787–799.
Gennarelli, T. A., L. E. Thibault, H. Adams, D. I. Graham, C. J. Thompson, and R. P. Marcincin. Diffuse axonal injury and traumatic coma in the primate. Ann. Neurol. 12(6):564–574, 1982.
Gennarelli, T. A., L. Thibault, G. Tomei, R. Wiser, D. Graham, and J. Adams, J. Directional dependence of axonal brain injury due to centroidal and non-centroidal acceleration. In: Proceedings in the 31st stapp car crash conference, Warrendale: Society of Automotive Engineers, 1987, pp. 49–53.
Gerberich, S. G., R. Finke, M. Madden, J. D. Priest, G. Aamoth, and K. Murray. An epidemiological study of high school ice hockey injuries. Child’s Nerv. Syst. 3(264):59–64, 1987.
Gilchrist, M. D. Modelling and accident reconstruction of head impact injuries. Key Eng. Mater. 245–246:417–429, 2003.
Giordano, C., and S. Kleiven. Evaluation of axonal strain as a predictor for mild traumatic brain injuries using finite element Modeling. Stapp Car Crash J. 58:29–61, 2014.
Gurdjian, E. S., V. L. Roberts, and L. M. Thomas. Tolerance curves of acceleration and intracranial pressure and protective index in experimental head injury. J. Trauma 6(5):600–604, 1966.
Hardy, W. N., C. D. Foster, and M. J. Mason. K. H., Yang, A. I. King, and S. Tashman, S. Investigation of head injury mechanisms using neutral density technology and high-speed biplanar X-ray. Stapp Car Crash J. 51:17–80, 2001.
Hernandez, F., L. C. Wu, M. C. Yip, K. Laksari, A. R. Hoffman, J. R. Lopez, G. A. Grant, S. Kleiven, and D. B. Camarillo. Six degree-of-freedom measurements of human mild traumatic brain injury. Ann. Biomed. Eng. 43(8):1918–1934, 2015.
Holbourn, A. H. Mechanics of head injuries. Lancet 2:438–441, 1943.
Horgan, T. J., and M. D. Gilchrist. The creation of three-dimensional finite element models for simulating head impact biomechanics. Int. J. Crashworthiness 8(4):353–366, 2003.
Horgan, T. J., and M. D. Gilchrist. Influence of FE model variability in predicting brain motion and intracranial pressure changes in head impact simulations. Int. J. Crashworthiness 9(4):401–418, 2004.
Hoshizaki, T. B., and S. E. Brien. The science and design of head protection in sport. Neurosurgery 55:956–967, 2004.
Hoshizaki, T. B., A. Post, A. Oeur, and S. Brien. Current and future concepts in helmet and sports injury prevention. Neurosurgery 75(4):S136–S138, 2014.
Hutchison, M. G., P. Comper, W. H. Meeuwisse, and R. J. Echemendia. A systematic video analysis of National Hockey League (NHL) concussions, part I: who, when, where and what? Br. J. Sports Med. 49(8):547–551, 2015.
Hutchison, M. G., P. Comper, W. H. Meeuwisse, and R. J. Echemendia. A systematic video analysis of National Hockey League (NHL) concussions, part II: how concussions occur in the NHL. Br. J. Sports Med. 49(8):552–555, 2015.
Karton, C., T. B. Hoshizaki, and M. D. Gilchrist. The influence of impactor mass on the dynamic response of the Hybrid III headform and brain tissue deformation. In: Mechanism of Concussion in Sports, edited by A. Ashare, and M. Ziejewski. West Conshohocken: ASTM International, 2014, pp. 23–44.
Kendall, M., A. Post, P. Rousseau, and T. B. Hoshizaki, T.B. The effect of shoulder pad design on reducing peak resultant linear and rotational acceleration in shoulder-to-head impacts. Mechanism of Concussion in Sports, STP 1552, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, PA, pp. 142–152, 2014.
Kendall, M., E. S. Walsh, and T. B. Hoshizaki. Comparison between Hybrid III and Hodgson-WSU headforms by linear and angular dynamic impact response. J. Sports Eng. Technol., 1–6, 2012
Kendall, M., A. Post, P. Rousseau, A. Oeur, M. D. Gilchrist, M. D., and T. B. Hoshizaki, B. A comparison of dynamic impact response and brain deformation metrics within the cerebrum of head impact reconstructions representing three mechanisms of head injury in ice hockey, In: IRCOBI conference, 2012, pp. 430–440.
Kleiven, S. Predictors for traumatic brain injuries evaluated through accident reconstruction. Stapp Car Crash J. 51:81–114, 2007.
Kleiven, S. Why most traumatic brain injuries are not caused by linear acceleration but skull fractures are. Front. Bioeng. Biotechnol. 1(15):1–5, 2013.
Kleiven, S. and H. Von Holst. Consequences of brain size following impact in prediction of subdural hematoma evaluated with numerical techniques. In: Proceedings of the IRCOBI, 2002, pp. 161–72.
Marar, M., N. M. McIlvain, S. K. Fields, and R. D. Comstock. Epidemiology of concussions among united states high school athletes in 20 sports. Am. J. Sports Med. 40(4):747–755, 2012.
McKee, A. C., B. E. Gavett, R. A. Stern, C. J. Nowinski, R. C. Cantu, N. W. Kowall, D. P. Perl, T. Hedley-White, B. Price, C. Sullivan, P. Morin, H. Lee, C. A. Kubilus, D. H. Daneshvar, M. Wulff, and A. E. Budson. TDPE-43 proteinopathy and motor neuron disease in chronic traumatic encephalopathy. J. Neuropathol. Exp. Neurol. 69(9):918–929, 2010.
Mendis, K., R. Stalnaker, and S. Advani. A constitutive relationship for large deformation finite element modeling of brain tissue. J. Biomech. Eng. 117(4):279–285, 1995.
Mihalik, J. P., K. M. Guskiewicz, J. A. Jeffries, R. M. Greenwald, and S. W. Marshall. Characteristics of head impacts sustained by youth ice hockey players. J. Sports Eng. Technol. 222(1):45–52, 2008.
Miller, K., and K. Chinzei. K. Constitutive modelling of brain tissue: experiment and theory. J. Biomech. 30(11):1115–1121, 1997.
Miller, R., S. Margulies, M. Leoni, M. Nonaka, A. Chen, D. Smith, and D. Meaney. Finite element modeling approaches for predicting injury in an experimental model of severe diffuse axonal injury. In Proceedings of the 42nd Stapp Car Crash Conference, SAE paper No. 983154, 1998.
Milne, G., C. Deck, N. Bourdet, Q. Alline, A. Gallego, R.P. Carreira, R. Willinger. Assessment of bicyclist head injury risk under tangential impact conditions. IRCOBI Conference, 2013, pp. 735–746
Nahum, A. M., R. Smith, R, and C. C. Ward, C. C. Intracranial pressure dynamics during head impact. In: Proceedings 21st Stapp car crash conference, New Orleans (USA), 1977
Newman, J., C. Barr, M. C. Beusenberg, E. Fournier, N. Shewchenko, E. Welbourne, and C. Withnall. A new biomechanical assessment of mild traumatic brain injury. Part 2: results and conclusions. In: Proceedings of the international research council on the biomechanics of injury conference, 2000
Nishizaki, K., M. Wayne, T. B. Hoshizaki, and M. D. Gilchirst. Evaluation of dynamic response and brain deformation metrics for a helmeted and non-helmeted hybrid III headform using a monorail centric/non-centric protocol. In: Mechanism of Concussion in Sports, ASTM International, West Conshohocken, 2014
Nobes, K. J., D. L. Montgomery, D. J. Pearsall, R. A. Turcotte, R. Lefebvre, and F. Whittom. A comparison of skating economy on-ice and on the skating treadmill. Can. J. Appl. Physiol. 28(1):1–11, 2003.
Nusholtz, G.S., P. Lux, P. S. Kaiker, and M. A. Janicki. Head impact response - Skull deformation and angular accelerations. In: Proceedings of the 28th Stapp car crash conference, Chicago, 1984, pp. 41–74.
Ommaya, A. K., and A. E. Hirsch. Tolerances for cerebral concussion from head impact and whiplash in primates. J. Biomech. 4:13–21, 1971.
Ono, K., A. Kikuchi, M. Nakamura, H. Kobayashi, and N. Nakamura. Human head tolerance to sagittal impact reliable estimation deduced from experimental head injury subhuman primates and human cadaver skull. In: Proceedings in the 24th Stapp car crash conference, SAE Paper No. 801303, 1980.
Ouckama, R. and D. Pearsall, D. (2014). Projectile impact testing of ice hockey helmets: headform kinematics and dynamic measurement of localized pressure distribution. In: IRCOBI conference, 2014, pp. 62–71
Padgaonkar, A. J., K. W. Krieger, and A. I. King. Measurement of angular acceleration of a rigid body using linear accelerometers. J. Appl. Mech. 42(3):552–556, 1975.
Pearsall, D. J., N. Montgomery, N. Rothsching, R. A. Turcotte, and R. A. The. Influence of stick stiffness on the performance of ice hockey slap shots. Sports Eng. 2:3–11, 1999.
Pellman, E. J., D. C. Viano, A. M. Tucker, I. R. Casson, and J. F. Waeckerle. Concussion in professional football: reconstruction of game impacts and injuries. J. Neurosurg. 53:799–814, 2003.
Post, A., T. B. Hoshizaki, M. Gilchrist, and S. Brien, S. Analysis of the influence of independent variables used for reconstruction of a traumatic brain injury incident. J. Sports Eng. Technol., 1–9, 2012
Post, A. The influence of dynamic response characteristics on traumatic brain injury. PhD Thesis. University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 2013.
Post, A., and T. B. Hoshizaki. Mechanisms of brain impact injuries and their prediction: a review. Trauma 14(4):327–349, 2012.
Post, A., and T. B. Hoshizaki. Rotational acceleration, Brain tissue strain, and the relationship to concussion. J. Biomech. Eng. 137(3):1–8, 2015.
Post, A., B. Hoshizaki, and M. D. Gilchrist. Finite element analysis of the effect of loading curve shape on brain injury predictors. J. Biomech. 45:679–683, 2012.
Post, A., T. B. Hoshizaki, M. D. Gilchrist, S. Brien, M. D. Cusimano, and S. Marshall. The influence of dynamic response and brain deformation metrics on the occurrence of subdural hematoma in different regions of the brain. J. Neurosurg. 1–9:1–11, 2013.
Post, A., T. B. Hoshizaki, M. D. Gilchrist, S. Brien, M. D. Cusimano, and S. Marshall. The influence of acceleration loading curve characteristics on traumatic brain injury. J. Biomech. 57:1074–1081, 2014.
Post, A., T. B. Hoshizaki, M. D. Gilchrist, S. Brien, M. Cusimano, and S. Marshall. Traumatic brain injuries: the influence of the direction of impact. Neurosurgery 51:325–335, 2015.
Post, A., T. B. Hoshizaki, M. D. Gilchrist, S. Brien, M. Cusimano, and S. Marshall. The dynamic response characteristics of traumatic brain injury. Accid. Anal. Prev. 79:33–40, 2015.
Post, A., M. Kendall, D. Koncan, J. Cournoyer, T. B. Hoshizaki, M. D. Gilchrist, S. Brien, M. D. Cusimano, and S. Marshall. Characterization of persistent concussive syndrome through injury reconstruction and finite element modelling. J. Mech. Behav. Biomed. Mater. 51:325–335, 2015.
Post, A., A. Oeur, B. Hoshizaki, and M. D. Gilchrist. Examination of the relationship between peak linear and angular accelerations to brain deformation metrics in hockey helmet impacts. Computer Methods in Biomechanics and Biomedical Engineering. 1–9, 2011
Rousseau, P. An Analysis of Concussion Metrics Associated with Elite Ice Hockey Elbow-to-Head and Shoulder-to-Head Collisions. PhD Thesis. University of Ottawa, Canada, 2014.
Rousseau, P., and T. B. Hoshizaki. Defining the effective impact mass of elbow and shoulder strikes in ice hockey. Sports Biomech. 14(1):57–67, 2015.
Rousseau, P., T. B. Hoshizaki, and M. D. Gilchrist. For ASTM F-08: Protective Capacity of Ice Hockey Player Helmets against Puck Impacts. In: Mechanism of Concussion in Sports, STP 1552, Vol. 1–12, edited by A. Ashare, and M. Ziejewski. West Conshohockenpp: ASTM International, 2014, pp. 196–207.
Rousseau, P., A. Post, and T. B. Hoshizaki. A comparison of peak linear and angular headform accelerations using ice hockey helmets. J. ASTM Int. 6(1):1–11, 2009.
Rousseau, P., A. Post, and T. B. Hoshizaki. The effects of impact management materials in ice hockey helmets on head injury criteria. J. Sports Eng. Technol. 223:159–165, 2009.
Rowson, B., S. Rowson, and S. M. Duma. Hockey STAR: A methodology for assessing the biomechanical performance of hockey helmets. Annals of Biomedical Engineering. 1–15, 2015
Roy, B. and R. Dore´. Kinematics of the Slap Shot in Ice Hockey as Executed by Players of Different Age Classifications. In: 5th International Congress of Biomechanics, International Congress of Biomechanics, Jyväskylä, Finland, 1975.
Ruan, J. Impact Biomechanics of head injury by mathematical modelling. PhD thesis, Wayne State University, Detroit, 1994.
Seemann, M. R., W. H. Muzzy III, and L. S. Lustick, L. S. Comparison of Human and Hybrid III Head and Neck Dynamic Response. In: Proceedings Stapp car crash conference, vol. 30, 1986, pp. 291–310
Smith, T. A., P. D. Halstead, E. McCalley, S. A. Kebschull, S. Halstead, and J. Killeffer. Angular head motion with and without head contact: implications for brain injury. Sports Eng. 2015. doi:10.1007/s12283-015-0175-5.
Takhounts, E. G., M. J. Craig, K. Moorhouse, J. McFadden, and V. Hasija. Development of brain injury criteria (Br IC). Stapp Car Crash J. 57:243–266, 2013.
Thomas, L. M., V. L. Roberts, and E. S. Gurdjian. Experimental intracranial pressure gradients in the human skull. J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry 29:404–411, 1966.
Viano, D. C., I. R. Casson, and E. J. Pellman. . Concussion in professional football: biomechanics of the struck player—part 14. Neurosurgery 61(2):313–328, 2007.
Viano, D. C., and E. J. Pellman. Concussion in professional football: biomechanics of the striking player—Part 8. Neurosurgery 56(2):266–280, 2005.
Walsh, E. S., and T. B. Hoshizaki. Comparative analysis of the Hybrid III neckform to unbiased neckforms using a centric and non-centric impact protocol. In: ASTM Symposium on the mechanism of concussion in sports, Atlanta, GA, November 13th, 2012.
Walsh, E. S., A. Post, P. Rousseau, M. Kendall, C. Karton,, A. Ouer, S. Foreman, and T. B. Hoshizaki. Dynamic impact response characteristics of a helmeted Hybrid III headform using a centric and non-centric impact protocol. J. Sports Eng., 1–6, 2012
Wennberg, R. A., and C. H. Tator. National hockey league reported concussions, 1986–1987 to 2001–2002. Can. J. Neurol. Sci. 30(3):206–209, 2003.
Wilcox, B. J., J. G. Beckwith, R. M. Greenwald, J. J. Chu, T. W. McAllister, L. A. Flashman, A. C. Maerlender, A. Duhaime, and J. J. Crisco. Head impact exposure in male and female collegiate ice hockey players. J. Biomech. 47:109–114, 2014.
Willinger, R., G. A. Ryan, A. J. McLean, and C. M. Kopp, C. M. Mechanisms of brain injury related to mathematical modeling and epidemiological data. In: Proceedings of the international IRCOBI conference on the biomechanics of impacts, 1992, pp. 179–192
Willinger, R., L. Taleb, and C. Kopp. Modal and temporal analysis of head mathematical models. J. Neurotrauma 12:743–754, 1995.
Wu, T. C., D. Pearsall, A. Hodges, R. Turcotte, R. Lefebvre, D. Montgomery, and H. Bateni. The performance of the ice hockey slap and wrist shots: the effects of stick 279 construction and player skill. Sports Eng. 6:31–40, 2003.
Yoganandan, N., J. Li, J. Zhang, F. A. Pintar, and T. A. Gennarelli. Influence of angular acceleration–deceleration pulse shapes on regional brain strains. J. Biomech. 41(10):2253–2262, 2008.
Yoganandan, N., and F. A. Pintar. Biomechanics of temporo-parietal skull fracture. Clin. Biomech. 19:225–239, 2004.
Zhang, L. K. H. Yang, and A. I. King, A.I. Biomechanics of neurotrauma. Neurol. Res. 23(2–3):144–156, 2001.
Zhang, L., K. H. Yang, and A. I. King. A proposed injury threshold for mild traumatic brain injury. J. Biomech. Eng. 126:226–236, 2004.
Zhou, C., T. B. Khalil, and A. I. King, A.I. A new model comparing impact responses of the homogeneous and inhomogeneous human brain. In: 39th Stapp car crash conference, Coronado CA, SAE International, Warrendale, 1995
Conflict of interest
The University of Ottawa holds research agreements for testing and development of ice hockey helmets with the helmet manufacturer who supplied the helmets for this study.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Associate Editor Stefan M. Duma oversaw the review of this article.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Clark, J.M., Post, A., Hoshizaki, T.B. et al. Protective Capacity of Ice Hockey Helmets against Different Impact Events. Ann Biomed Eng 44, 3693–3704 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1686-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10439-016-1686-3