Influence of a Vented Mouthguard on Physiological Responses in Handball

Abstract

Schulze, A, Laessing, J, Kwast, S, and Busse, M. Influence of a vented mouthguard on physiological responses in handball. J Strength Cond Res XX(X): 000-000, 2018-Mouthguards (MGs) improve sports safety. However, airway obstruction and a resulting decrease in performance are theoretical disadvantages regarding their use. The study aim was to assess possible limitations of a "vented" MG on aerobic performance in handball. The physiological effects were investigated in 14 male professional players in a newly developed handball-specific course. The measured values were oxygen uptake, ventilation, heart rate, and lactate. Similar oxygen uptake (V[Combining Dot Above]O2) values were observed with and without MG use (51.9 ± 6.4 L·min·kg vs. 52.1 ± 10.9 L·min·kg). During maximum load, ventilation was markedly lower with the vented MG (153.1 ± 25 L·min vs. 166.3 ± 20.8 L·min). The endexpiratory concentrations of O2 (17.2 ± 0.5% vs. 17.6 ± 0.8%) and CO2 (4.0 ± 0.5% vs. 3.7 ± 0.6%) were significantly lower and higher, respectively, when using the MG. The inspiration and expiration times with and without the MG were 0.6 ± 0.1 seconds vs. 0.6 ± 0.1 seconds and 0.7 ± 0.2 seconds vs. 0.6 ± 0.2 seconds (all not significant), respectively, indicating that there was no relevant airflow restriction. The maximum load was not significantly affected by the MG. The lower ventilation for given V[Combining Dot Above]O2 values associated with MG use may be an effect of improved biomechanics and lower respiratory drive of the peripheral musculature.

Effects of Custom-made Mouthguards on Cardiopulmonary Exercise Capacity

“…Schulze et al [11] as well as Garner et al [27] reported similar results to the current study. Garner et al [27] suspected a change in jaw position and thus a mechanical-anatomical improvement in airflow dynamics, which may reduce the breathing frequency with * significantly different from co/ # significantly different from MGvent/ + significantly different from nMG/Co = no mouthguard; MGvent = custommade mouthguards with breathing channels; nMG = custom-made mouthguards without breathing channels; mean = group mean values; SD = standard deviation;VO 2 = oxygen uptake/min; VCO 2 = carbon dioxide production/min; RR = respiratory rate; V T = tidal volume; V E = ventilation/ min; Ti = inspiratory time; Te = expiratory time; FetO 2 = end-tidal fractional oxygen concentration; FetCO 2 = end-tidal fractional carbon dioxide concentration; SV = stroke volume; CO = cardiac output; HR = heart rate; avDO 2 = arteriovenous oxygen difference; RQ = respiratory quotient; Lactate = blood lactate, n 2 p = partial eta squared.…”

“…Studies found that this type of MG reduced ventilation (V E ) without negatively affecting performance or oxygen uptake. It was also found that when using these self-adapted MGs with breathing channels, blood lactate was often lower compared to that with the use of a traditional self-adapted MG or no MG [9][10][11][12]. These results suggest improved alveolar V E , which potentially increases respiratory efficiency.…”

“…In summary, the PLB mechanism [9,10,14], an improvement in the biomechanics of the muscles [12,24,25,37,43], or a reduced peripheral respiratory drive [11,34] have all been described as possible explanations for the effects of the use of MGs. There is no difference in avDO 2 between performance with and without MGs.…”

“…The present study focused on individually customized MGs, which are more comfortable and have a better fit compared to selfadapting MGs [18,21,22]. Some studies observed improved peripheral biomechanical control due to the influence of custom made MGs [11,12,[23][24][25][26]. Various independent studies claim that customized MGs have beneficial effects with regard to aerobic energy supply, with significant improvements in mean power, peak power, and time to peak power, when assessed with a 30 s Wingate Anaerobic Test when wearing an individually custom made MG [24,25].…”

“…Various independent studies claim that customized MGs have beneficial effects with regard to aerobic energy supply, with significant improvements in mean power, peak power, and time to peak power, when assessed with a 30 s Wingate Anaerobic Test when wearing an individually custom made MG [24,25]. These studies indicate that custom made MGs are superior to either no MG or self-adapted MGs [11,12,19,20,[23][24][25][26][27].…”