Abstract - Comparison of dynamic parameters related to head injuries using four common styles of commercial taekwondo headgear in a simulated protocol roundhouse kick
Background, Problem and Aim. Despite the use of four types of headgear in taekwondo. A high prevalence of head injuries has been reported in competitions. It is important to ensure that headgear can effectively reduce the parameters related to head injuries. However, headgear is usually evaluated only based in linear acceleration at the moment of collision and on an unreal competition situation. The purpose of this study is to investigate and compare some selected dynamic parameters related to head injury among four types of common taekwondo headgear in a simulated protocol.
Methods. A device included an artificial head equipped with force and acceleration sensors and a lever arm to simulate roundhouse kick skill, was used. Before testing the four types of headgear, the foot force of 15 taekwondo elite male athletes with a mean weight of 77.7 ± 6.27 Kg and height of 182.1 ± 5.05 cm was obtained. The device then delivered 10 impacts to the artificial head with and without the four types of headgear. One-way repeated measures ANOVA and Bonferony were used for statistical analysis.
Results. All four headgear reduced maximum impact force and maximum linear acceleration by more than 80% (p< 0.01) as compared to no headgear condition. Furthermore, headgear A (density 86 kg/m3, thickness 20 mm and mass 0.203 kg) and B (density 125 kg/m3, thickness 37 mm and mass 0.293 kg ) reduced maximum rotational acceleration about 7.47% and 23.6% respectively, while C (density 65 kg/m3, thickness 20 mm and mass 0.190 kg) and D (density 58 kg/m3, thickness 18 mm and mass 0.150 kg) increased it by 57.8 and 85%, respectively, when compared to no headgear condition (p< 0.01). Headgear B with the highest thickness, density and mass has the best performance in reducing impact force, and linear and rotational
accelerations (23.64%, 3555 rad/s2).
Conclusion. All Taekwondo headgear tested in this study provided sufficient protection against injuries caused by impact force and linear acceleration, but not against rotational acceleration. Only headgear B reduced the rotational acceleration by about 24%.