A Review of Head Injury and Impact Biomechanics in Recreational Skiing and Snowboarding

Abstract Professor Herbert R. Lissner was a pioneer in impact biomechanics, having initiated research on the injury mechanisms, mechanical response, and human tolerance of the human brain to blunt impact 80 years ago—in 1939. This paper summarizes the contributions made by Professor Lissner in head injury as well as in the many areas of impact biomechanics in which he was involved. In 1977, the Bioengineering Division of ASME established the H. R. Lissner Award to recognize outstanding career achievements in the area of biomechanics. In 1987, this award was converted to a society-wide Medal, and to date it has been awarded to 44 exemplary researchers and educators. The lead author of this paper was Professor Lissner's first and only Ph.D. student, and he offers a unique insight into his research and contributions.

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GS10-4 Reconstruction simulation of a concussion case of head injury accidents in playing American football(GS10: Sports and Impact Biomechanics)

The Proceedings of the Asian Pacific Conference on Biomechanics emerging science and technology in biomechanics ◽

10.1299/jsmeapbio.2015.8.213 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 2015.8 (0) ◽

pp. 213

Author(s):

Ryoma Kita ◽

Takamasa Aoki ◽

Hiromichi Nakadate ◽

Shigeru Aomura ◽

Takayuki Koyama ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Head Injury ◽

American Football ◽

Impact Biomechanics

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Head impact velocities in FIS World Cup snowboarders and freestyle skiers: Do real-life impacts exceed helmet testing standards?

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2016-097086 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (1) ◽

pp. 32-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sophie E Steenstrup ◽

Kam-Ming Mok ◽

Andrew S McIntosh ◽

Roald Bahr ◽

Tron Krosshaug

Keyword(s):

Head Injury ◽

Angular Velocity ◽

Sagittal Plane ◽

Real Life ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Head Impact ◽

World Cup ◽

Minimum Requirement ◽

Impact Biomechanics ◽

Testing Speed

IntroductionPrior to the 2013–2014 season, the International Ski Federation (FIS) increased the helmet testing speed from a minimum requirement of 5.4 to 6.8 m/s for alpine downhill, super-G and giant slalom and for freestyle ski cross, but not for the other freestyle disciplines or snowboarding. Whether this increased testing speed reflects impact velocities in real head injury situations on snow is unclear. We therefore investigated the injury mechanisms and gross head impact biomechanics in four real head injury situations among World Cup (WC) snowboard and freestyle athletes and compared these with helmet homologation laboratory test requirements. The helmets in the four cases complied with at least European Standards (EN) 1077 (Class B) or American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) F2040.MethodsWe analysed four head injury videos from the FIS Injury Surveillance System throughout eight WC seasons (2006–2014) in detail. We used motion analysis software to digitize the helmet’s trajectory and estimated the head’s kinematics in two dimensions, including directly preimpact and postimpact.ResultsAll four impacts were to the occiput. In the four cases, the normal-to-slope preimpact velocity ranged from 7.0(±SD 0.2) m/s to 10.5±0.5 m/s and the normal-to-slope velocity change ranged from 8.4±0.6 m/s to 11.7±0.7 m/s. The sagittal plane helmet angular velocity estimates indicated a large change in angular velocity (25.0±2.9 rad/s to 49.1±0.3 rad/s).ConclusionThe estimated normal-to-slope preimpact velocity was higher than the current strictest helmet testing rule of 6.8 m/s in all four cases.

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Reconstruction of head impacts in FIS World Cup alpine skiing

British Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1136/bjsports-2017-098050 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 52 (11) ◽

pp. 709-715 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Sophie Elspeth Steenstrup ◽

Kam-Ming Mok ◽

Andrew S McIntosh ◽

Roald Bahr ◽

Tron Krosshaug

Keyword(s):

Head Injury ◽

Sagittal Plane ◽

Two Dimensions ◽

Head Impact ◽

World Cup ◽

Injury Surveillance System ◽

Velocity Change ◽

Head Impacts ◽

Impact Biomechanics ◽

Testing Speed

IntroductionPrior to the 2013/2014 season, the International Ski Federation (FIS) increased the helmet testing speed from 5.4 to 6.8 m/s for alpine downhill, super-G and giant slalom. Whether this increased testing speed reflects head impact velocities in real head injury situations on snow is unclear. We therefore investigated the injury mechanisms and gross head impact biomechanics in seven real head injury situations among World Cup (WC) alpine skiers.MethodsWe analysed nine head impacts from seven head injury videos from the FIS Injury Surveillance System, throughout nine WC seasons (2006–2015) in detail. We used commercial video-based motion analysis software to estimate head impact kinematics in two dimensions, including directly preimpact and postimpact, from broadcast video. The sagittal plane angular movement of the head was also measured using angle measurement software.ResultsIn seven of nine head impacts, the estimated normal to slope preimpact velocity was higher than the current FIS helmet rule of 6.8 m/s (mean 8.1 (±SD 0.6) m/s, range 1.9±0.8 to 12.1±0.4 m/s). The nine head impacts had a mean normal to slope velocity change of 9.3±1.0 m/s, range 5.2±1.1 to 13.5±1.3 m/s. There was a large change in sagittal plane angular velocity (mean 43.3±2.9 rad/s (range 21.2±1.5 to 64.2±3.0 rad/s)) during impact.ConclusionThe estimated normal to slope preimpact velocity was higher than the current FIS helmet rule of 6.8 m/s in seven of nine head impacts.

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