A Comparison of a Youth and a General Ice Hockey Helmet Test Protocol

Abstract

Ice hockey helmet standards are employed to test ice hockey helmets to ensure that they mitigate the risk of traumatic brain injuries. These standards primarily reflect adult ice hockey players' anthropometrics and play styles; however, they may not address youth ice hockey players anthropometrics and play styles. This study created a youth helmet test protocol using head impact characteristics specific to the Learn to Play (5-8 years old) youth ice hockey age group environment. The youth helmet test protocol was compared to a general helmet test protocol with the head mass, shoulder mass, and impacting velocities modified to reflect real-world conditions. The dependent variables used in the study included peak resultant linear acceleration, peak resultant rotational velocity, peak resultant rotational acceleration, and maximal principal strain (MPS). Two-way ANOVA identified significant interactions between the test protocols and two helmets tested in this study. This was followed by ANOVA to test for significance across the levels of the independent variables followed by paired t-tests to identify significant differences between the test protocols for each dependent variable for the head to boards and shoulder to head condition (p<0.05). The only significant difference identified between the test protocols for the head to ice condition was linear acceleration. The paired t-tests identified significant differences between the two helmets for all dependent variables for the head to ice and head to boards conditions (p<0.05). The results from this study revealed that youth are being exposed to similar amounts of brain trauma when compared to adults for the head to ice event. The head to ice condition is one of the most common types of impact events in the Learn to Play age group supporting the need to consider a youth specific ice hockey helmet standard test. This study demonstrated that the CCM FL 500 provided better protection for youth ice hockey players, and helmet companies could employ similar technologies to better protect youth from the risk of brain injuries.