A-21 Do Guardian Caps Reduce Concussion Frequency, Symptom Severity, and Time-Loss After Concussion In Football Athletes?

Abstract

Purpose The Guardian Cap (GC) was designed to mitigate biomechanical forces to football helmets. This pilot study was designed to examine if the use of GCs reduced concussion frequency, total symptom severity (TST), and days-until-symptom-resolution (DUSR) following a SC in collegiate football athletes. We hypothesized the GCs would not decrease SC frequency, TST, or DUSR. Methods Participants (N=14) in our cross-sectional study were Division I collegiate football athletes who were diagnosed with a SC (20.0±1.32 years old) who did (GC; n=3) or did not (NoGC; n=11) wear the GC. Only SCs that occurred to athletes required to wear the GC during practice were included in our analyses. As spring practice was cancelled during 2020 due to COVID-19, only fall practices were included in our analyses. The head coach remained consistent during the NoGC and GC study periods. Descriptive statistics were used to examine concussion frequency. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to compare TST and DUSR between groups. Also, [interquartile range] could not be calculated for the GC group due to the low number of SCs. Results On median, the number of SCs decreased from 4 to 1.5 per season from the NoGC to the GC period. On median DUSR decreased from 13.5[11] to 5[n/a] for the NoGC and GC groups, respectively (U=9.50,z=-.93,p=.35). TST also decreased from 16[27] to 6[n/a] in the NoGC and GC groups, respectively (U=5.0,z=-1.79,p=.07). Conclusions GCs may potentially reduce concussion frequency, TST, and DUSR, however, future research with a larger sample size is needed to confirm and extend our findings.

Concussion Rehabilitation and the Application of Ten Movement Training Principles

“…Not surprisingly, a study in Australian football has shown no effect of helmets in reducing concussions [58]. In American football, new soft-shell covers such as the 'Guardian Cap' are designed to reduce forces, with ongoing research underway [59][60][61].…”