Abstract
BackgroundWhile there have been investigations into the reduced neck injury rate of wearing protective helmets, there is little information on its effects on normal kinaesthetic neck function. This study aims to quantify the kinaesthetic and movement effects of the American football helmet.MethodsFifteen British Collegiate American football players (mean age 22.2, SD 1.9; BMI kg.m2 26.3, SD 3.7) were age and size matched to 11 non-American football playing university students (mean age 22.5, SD 3.6; BMI 24.3, SD 3.3 kg.m2). Both groups had their active cervical range of motion and head repositioning accuracy measured during neck flexion/extension using a modified cervical range of motion device and a similarly modified football helmet.ResultsWearing helmets significantly reduced active cervical range of motion in extension in both groups (P = 0.007 and P = 0.001 Controls and American Footballers respectively). While both groups had similar repositioning when not wearing a helmet (flexion P = 0.99; extension P = 0.52), when wearing helmets, American football players appeared to be more accurate in relation to cervical kinaesthetic repositioning (ANOVA: P = 0.077: flexion effect size =0.84; extension effect size =0.38).ConclusionsWearing American football helmets significantly reduces the active cervical range of motion in extension, along with a change in the neutral head position. American footballers have a greater accuracy in repositioning their head from flexion (potentially enhanced proprioception) when wearing a helmet. This finding might allow development of a simple objective test to help discern presence of minor concussive or cervical musculoskeletal injury on or off the field.
Highlights
While there have been investigations into the reduced neck injury rate of wearing protective helmets, there is little information on its effects on normal kinaesthetic neck function
Mean (±1 standard deviation) for the anthropometric measures and the number of concussion head injuries declared for Controls and American Football players calculated from the repeated measures accurate in relation to cervical kinaesthetic repositioning (ANOVA) reveal that wearing a helmet affects the active cervical range of motion (ACROM) (P = 0.014) with no difference between the controls and AF players (P = 0.62)
To determine whether the changes in ACROM were the result of a displacement in the neutral point, the ratio between flexion and extension was calculated (Table 2)
Summary
While there have been investigations into the reduced neck injury rate of wearing protective helmets, there is little information on its effects on normal kinaesthetic neck function. Joint disease and other musculoskeletal conditions can associate with altered proprioceptive functioning [2,3,4] which, in extreme cases such as following joint injection in the neck can result in ataxia; ipsilateral hypotonia of the arm and leg and a strong sensation of falling or tilting [1]. Extreme, this highlights the potential for lesser.
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