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Head and Neck Injuries in Young Athletes pp 13–26Cite as

Protective Equipment

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Part of the book series: Contemporary Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine ((PASM))

Abstract

Protective equipment use in contact/collision sports has evolved during the modern era from rudimentary design and function to sophisticated, state-of-the-art gear. Comprised of lightweight durable materials, current equipment can withstand impact forces that previously would have resulted in significant morbidity to the participant. Despite this evolution, sports-related injuries continue to increase as participation rates rise and young athletes perform sport-specific training and conditioning that often result in their ability to generate more force during collision activities, as the adage “bigger, stronger, faster” continues to play out in youth competitive sports. Recent studies have demonstrated that youth American football players can generate high-magnitude impacts during practice and competition—forces previously thought to be achieved only by college and professional American football players. Tremendous focus and attention by youth sports organizations, medical, safety, and scientific communities have been directed in recent years toward a common goal of reducing injury risk in young athletes, specifically injuries to the head and neck. This chapter provides a review of the role of protective equipment in injury reduction; the history of protective equipment; the evidence supporting the utilization of head, face, and neck protective gear in contact/collision sports; attitudes among players, medical staff, and coaches toward the use of protective equipment; issues pertaining to enforcement and mandated use of protective gear; advertising and marketing claims regarding protective equipment; and future directions and research regarding head and neck protective equipment.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Rhode Island Hospital, Providence, RI, USA

    Emilie Dolan BS & Peter Kriz MD

Authors
  1. Emilie Dolan BS
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  2. Peter Kriz MD
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Correspondence to Peter Kriz MD .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Sports Medicine, Childrens Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

    Michael O'Brien

  2. The Micheli Center for Sports Injur , Waltham, Massachusetts, USA

    William P. Meehan III

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Dolan, E., Kriz, P. (2016). Protective Equipment. In: O'Brien, M., Meehan III, W. (eds) Head and Neck Injuries in Young Athletes. Contemporary Pediatric and Adolescent Sports Medicine. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23549-3_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23549-3_2

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23548-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23549-3

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

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