THE NEW NOCSAE CHEST PROTECTOR STANDARD COULD REDUCE THE LIKELIHOOD OF A RARE BUT
DEADLY ON-FIELD PHENOMENON
BY PAUL OHANIAN
“The AED was the lifeline, but it goes deeper than that,” said Grant's dad Doug Mays. “There has to be trained personnel that know how to use the machine when time is so critical.” Recent research studies have yielded promising results for an equipment intervention to help reduce the likelihood of commotio cordis. The National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) may soon approve a performance standard for chest protectors after testing on a mechanical surrogate. The proposal is eligible for final balloting at NOCSAE’s winter meeting Jan. 27.
“This is an unprecedented breakthrough in
sports protection,” said Mike Oliver, executive director of NOCSAE. “Scientists have pinpointed the exact cause of commotio cordis, including the critical moment of occurrence in the cardiac cycle and the required threshold to prevent the injury.” Dr. Mark Link, a board-certified cardiac electrophysiologist and worldwide authority on commotio cordis, conducted substantial research with NOCSAE funding. He tested 12 chest protectors varying in composition on a mechanical surrogate absorbing ball impacts. More than half of the impacts sustained without any chest protection resulted in ventricular fibrillation. Four of the 12 chest protectors significantly decreased the incidence rate to 20 percent or less. Among products that he has tested, Link said that the HART Protector (pictured at left), produced by Unequal Technologies, may be the closest to meeting the proposed NOCSAE standard. “I am reasonably optimistic that this chest protector ... has the potential to significantly reduce the risk of commotio cordis,” he said. While chest protectors are primarily associated with baseball catchers and lacrosse goalies, the technology also can be incorporated into the design of protective equipment worn by field players. The most effective material was a composite of four foams with varying density measuring 21 millimeters thick. “We would advocate for any protective gear to be as widely available to all players as possible,” Doug Mays said. “We accept that there are risks associated with any activity, including lacrosse. But the bottom line is that at the end of the day, we want players to be able to go home.” USL
USlaxmagazine.com
Life-Saving Acronyms Prepare for the worst with CPR and AED training
While significant research advances offer hope in the development of a more effective equipment intervention for commotio cordis, the only effective response currently continues to be CPR and the deployment of an automated external defibrillator (AED) to deliver a life-saving shock or defibrillation to the heart. Further, the available data shows that resuscitation efforts, including initial CPR, are most effective when initiated within three minutes of the incident.
US Lacrosse has partnered with the American Heart Association to offer discounted training kits to lacrosse organizations that provide hands-only CPR (no mouth-to- mouth) and AED training for coaches and parents.
HANDS-ONLY CPR 1
Call 911 and report your location.
2
Place your hands, one on top of the other, in the middle of the chest. Use your body weight to help you administer compressions that are at least two inches deep and delivered at a rate of at least 100 compressions per minute. Push hard, push fast.
3
Keep performing the chest
compressions until the person exhibits signs of life, such as breathing, an AED becomes available, or EMS or a
trained medical responder arrives on scene.
January 2017 US LACROSSE MAGAZINE
35
SPORT SCIENCE
©SHUTTERSTOCK
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