scholarly journals EXPERIMENTAL EVALUATION OF THE IMPACTABSORPTION PROPERTIES OF RUBBER TILES FOR THE PLAYGROUND

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (05) ◽  
pp. 244-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
LI-TUNG CHANG ◽  
KUEN-HORNG TSAI ◽  
JIN-SHAN SHIAU

Rubber tiles are popular in playgrounds as protective surfacing to reduce the incidence of head injuries caused by children falling from equipment. However, Taiwan has not yet established a test code for assessment of the shock-absorption properties of such surfacing. For this study, an experimental model was established to evaluate the behavior of various rubber tiles. A hemispherical headform was dropped from a set height to strike the center of the specimen tile. The peak acceleration and Head Injury Criterion (HIC) were measured to assess the impact absorption of and critical height for a given rubber tile. The results show that utilization of the HIC index provides a more conservative assessment of the shock absorption and, ultimately, protection from head injuries than peak acceleration. The maximum critical heights of the rubber tiles used in this study for tile thicknesses of 45, 60 and 80 mm were 1.6, 2.0 and 2.2 m, respectively. Two-part rubber tiles with a base structure consisting of a box-like core offer superior protection from head injuries relative to analogous cylindrical, square pillar and solid structures. The maximum differences in peakacceleration and HIC values comparing the box-like core and solid structures at a thickness of 45 mm were 21% and 44%, respectively. The results of this study suggest a minimum of rubber thickness of 60 mm, based on probable maximum fall heights of more than 1.6 m. Moreover, incorporation of an appropriate cushioning structure in the base of the rubber tile could further improve protection.

2009 ◽  
Vol 44 (6) ◽  
pp. 595-602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brenda J. Shields ◽  
Gary A. Smith

Abstract Context: Although playground surfaces have been investigated for fall impact attenuation, the surfaces that cheerleaders use have received little attention. Objective: To determine (1) the critical height for selected surfaces used by cheerleaders at or below which a serious head impact injury from a fall is unlikely to occur, (2) the critical heights for non–impact-absorbing surfaces for comparison purposes, and (3) the effect of soil moisture and grass height on gmax (which is defined as the multiple of g [acceleration due to gravity at the earth's surface at sea level: ie, 32.2 feet·s−1·s−1] that represents the maximum deceleration experienced during an impact) and the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) at the critical height for a dry grass surface. Design: Observational study. Settings: A local cheerleading gym, indoor locations within the authors' institution, and various outdoor locations. Main Outcome Measure(s): g max, HIC, and critical height. Results: Critical heights for the surfaces tested ranged from 0.5 ft (0.15 m) for concrete and vinyl tile installed over concrete to more than 11 ft (3.35 m) for a spring floor. Increases in grass height and soil moisture resulted in an increase in the critical height for grass surfaces. Only spring floors and 4-in (0.10-m)–thick landing mats placed on traditional foam floors had critical heights greater than 10.5 ft (3.20 m), thus providing enough impact-absorbing capacity for performance of 2-level stunts. Conclusions: The potential for serious head impact injuries can be minimized by increasing the shock-absorbing capacity of the surface, decreasing the height from which the person falls, or both. Cheerleaders and cheerleading coaches should use the critical heights reported in this study to compare the relative impact-absorbing capacities of the various surfaces tested, with critical height as an indicator of the impact-absorption capacity of the surface. The findings of this study can be used to select the most appropriate surface for the type of maneuver to be performed, based on the maximum height expected to be achieved by the cheerleader(s) during execution of the maneuver. Cheerleaders should not perform maneuvers at heights that exceed the critical height for the surface on which they are performing.


2013 ◽  
Vol 135 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
T. P. Hutchinson

Impact testing of pedestrian headforms is usually conducted at one velocity and with one mass of headform, but real impacts occur at a range of velocities and masses. A method is proposed to predict the Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and similar quantities at other velocities from their values observed under test conditions. A specific assumption is made about acceleration during the impact as related to displacement, its differential (instantaneous velocity), mass of headform, and initial velocity: namely, that it is the product of a power function of displacement (representing a possibly nonlinear spring) and a term that includes a type of damping. This equation is not solved, but some properties of the solution are obtained: HIC, maximum acceleration, and maximum displacement are found to be power functions of mass of headform and initial velocity. Expressions for the exponents are obtained in terms of the nonlinearity parameter of the spring. Simple formulae are obtained for the dependence of HIC, maximum acceleration, and maximum displacement on velocity and mass. These are relevant to many types of impact.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (22) ◽  
pp. 8239
Author(s):  
Andrzej Mroczkowski

(1) Background: The aim of this article is to investigate the susceptibility to head injuries in physical education students who do not train a specific sports discipline and those who use the fall performed backward with side aligning of the body technique. The other goal is the biomechanical analysis of the impact of the fall technique on the likelihood of head injury. (2) Methods: the study included 57 students, divided into two research groups. Group A consisted of 32 students who had not practiced any sport in a sports club before. Group B consisted of 25 students who, by practicing martial arts, had acquired the skill of the fall performed backward with side aligning of the body. A rotating training simulator (RTS) was used to force the fall backwards. (3) Results: students from group B made significantly fewer “head” errors when falling backwards than in group A. Increasing the speed of falling did not increase the number of “head” errors in group B, but only in group A. The type of the fall test performed affected the increase in the number of “head” errors only in group A. (4) Conclusions: practicing selected sports disciplines in which the fall backwards occurs can protect one against head injuries by acquiring appropriate motor habits. The use of the fall performed backward with side aligning of the body technique with the occurrence of horizontal inertia forces causing a fall reduces the risk of head injuries.


1996 ◽  
Vol 2 (6) ◽  
pp. 494-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan M. Haltiner ◽  
Nancy R. Temkin ◽  
H. Richard Winn ◽  
Sureyya S. Dikmen

AbstractThis study examined the relationship of posttraumatic seizures and head injury severity to neuropsychological performance and psychosocial functioning in 210 adults who were prospectively followed and assessed 1 year after moderate to severe traumatic head injury. Eighteen percent (n = 38) of the patients experienced 1 or more late seizures (i.e., seizures occurring 8 or more days posttrauma) by the time of the 1-year followup. As expected, the head injured patients who experienced late posttraumatic seizures were those with the most severe head injuries, and they were significantly more impaired on the neuropsychological and psychosocial measures compared to those who remained seizure free. However, after the effects of head injury severity were controlled, there were no significant differences in neuropsychological and psychosocial outcome at 1 year as a function of having seizures. These findings suggest that worse outcomes in patients who develop posttraumatic seizures up to 1 year posttrauma largely reflect the effects of the brain injuries that cause seizures, rather than the effect of seizures. (JINS, 1996, 2, 494–504.)


2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Chin-Shyan Chen ◽  
Tsai-Ching Liu

The objective of this study was to examine whether the implementation of the helmet law had reduced the likelihood of head injury and the associated medical cost in Taiwan. Data were taken from the 1996 and 1998 population-based data. In total, 888,179 and 921,058 effective samples were used in the study from the two years. Two different types of regression model were adopted to evaluate the impact of the motorcycle helmet use law on incidences of head injury and associated medical cost and hospital length of stay. The results reveal that medical cost is down by 11.5 percent and hospital LOS has fallen by 18.58 percent. Thus, with the introduction of the motorcycle helmet use law having had a demonstrably positive influence on motorcycle head injuries and fatalities, significant savings are clearly being achieved, not only in terms of economic and social costs, but also with regard to medical cost.


F1000Research ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 1483
Author(s):  
Joe M. Das ◽  
Apar Pokharel ◽  
Rashmi Sapkota ◽  
Manish Mishra ◽  
Ashish Babu Aryal

Background: There are a number of ways in which one can sustain a head injury. Even if you are doing simple household activities or going out for a morning walk, you cannot be sure of what type of injury awaits you. The source of injury may be a pressure cooker whistle acting as a projectile or a hailstone falling from the sky. Such injuries are common in Nepal, considering the socio-demographic and geographic conditions. In this article, we present two such very rare cases of head injury. Case Reports: The first case is a middle-aged woman who sustained an accidental injury to the face associated with fracture of frontal sinus and frontal contusion, following the impact from a high momentum projectile in the form of the pressure regulator of a pressure cooker. She underwent craniotomy and removal of the foreign body. In the second case, an elderly man sustained minor injury to the head following the fall of hail. The abrasions and contusions produced by the hail were managed conservatively. Since he did not have any clinical evidence of head injury, other than multiple abrasions with contusions in the scalp, he did not undergo any imaging studies. He did not have any neurological deficits. The postoperative period was uneventful for the first patient and she was followed up for one month. The second patient was lost to follow-up. Conclusion: Successful management of two very rare cases of head injuries from Nepal are reported. Proper care and maintenance of the house-hold utensils that are constantly used may protect people from head injuries.  Though natural calamities cannot always be avoided, simple measures like using an umbrella while going outdoors may protect individuals from head injuries due to hailstones.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yafit Hamzani ◽  
Dror Bar Hai ◽  
Nir Cohen ◽  
Michael J. Drescher ◽  
Gavriel Chaushu ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Electric bikes (E-bikes) and powered scooters (P-scooters) have become increasingly popular modes of public transportation, but they have been associated with injuries of all kinds, including dental trauma. Helmet use is promoted as a means of reducing injuries in accidents involving motorized and unmotorized vehicles. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of helmet use on the number and severity of oral and maxillofacial injuries caused by E-bikes and P-scooters. Methods A retrospective cross-sectional study design was used. The cohort included all patients referred to the emergency department of a tertiary medical center in 2014–2020 with oral and maxillofacial injuries involving E-bikes or P-scooters. Data were collected from the medical files on demographics, types of injuries, circumstances of occurrence, work-up, treatment, and outcome. Use of a helmet was recorded in each case. Results Of the total 1417 patients referred to the emergency department for E-bike and P-scooter-related trauma, 62 had oral and maxillofacial injuries, including 57 riders and 5 pedestrians. All had hard- or soft-tissue injuries; 20 (32.2%) had head injuries and 22 (35.5%) had dentoalveolar injuries. Eleven riders had worn a helmet at the time of injury (17.7%). Helmet use was associated with time of injury (weekday/weekend, daytime/night-time), type of motorized vehicle (E-bike or P-scooter), head injury, and number of bone fractures. Head injuries occurred more often on the weekend (57.9%) than during the week (20.9%) and were more likely to occur in riders who were not protected by a helmet (37.3% vs 18.2%). Patients who used helmets also had a lower rate of fractured bones (18.2%) and dentoalveolar injuries (23.7%) than patients who did not (68.8 and 37.3%, respectively). Interestingly, helmet use had no protective effect on soft-tissue injuries. Conclusions Helmet use by E-bike and P-scooter riders decreased the probability of head injury and of hard tissue and dentoalveolar injuries. These results may provide guidance for effective legislation and regulation of helmet use and improved treatment protocols for general and dental physicians.


Author(s):  
Gurusamy Rajasekaran ◽  
Raju Venkatesh

Background: The prognosis of patients with moderate and severe head injuries is poor in elderly individuals which affects not only their families and also the society. An accurate and early prediction of survival and functional outcome becomes essential and important to decide the aggressiveness of treatment after the informed counseling of relatives. The aim of the present study was to assess the impact of the age on the outcome of the elderly individual with moderate and severe head injury and to compare it with the outcome of younger age group.Methods: Authors retrospectively evaluated 250 patients with moderate (GCS 9-13) and severe (GCS 3-8) TBI after categorizing them into group A (above 60 years of age) and group B (20-59 years of age). Age, sex, mode of injury, level of consciousness as in GCS, management and CT findings were assessed for outcome and comparisons were made.Results: The mean age for good outcome in elderly group is 66.8 and for bad outcome is 70.1 years. The mean age for good outcome in younger group is 33.2 and for bad outcome is 47.5 years. Elderly patients fare worse in all factors assessed when compared to younger group.Conclusions: Head injuries in old age associated with poor GCS serves as a basis for making early prediction for the likelihood of poor outcome. 


1995 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 13-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F. Kosciulek

Results of an investigation designed to identify family types among a sample of families who have a member with a head injury are presented. Participants were 150 primary caregivers of persons with head injuries recruited through the Wisconsin Brain Trauma Association. Cluster analysis of Family Assessment Device (FAD) data revealed the following family types: (a) un patterned, (b) fragile, (c) pliant, (d) regenerative, and (e) vulnerable. These head injury family types add to our understanding of the impact of head injury on families and provide the basis for examining why some families are better able to manage ihe demands of head injury than others.


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