National Campaign
National CampaignSafety Equipment
Protective safety equipment has been developed and recommended for many different sports. The purpose of the equipment is to help prevent and reduce the severity of injuries. The use of safety equipment is usually recommended as a result of research by health professionals that identified a high risk of injury in a particular sport or recreational activity. The use of safety equipment may be advocated by the government, national medical organizations, public health professionals, safety groups, national governing bodies of sports or sports associations to prevent many different types of injuries, especially catastrophic injuries.A national health objective in Healthy People 2000 regarding safety equipment states: "Extend requirements of the use of effective head, face, eye, and mouth protection to all organizations, agencies and institutions sponsoring sporting and recreation events that pose risk of injury."
Standards for Safety Equipment
The following national organizations have developed standards for safety equipment:
American Society For Testing & Materials (ASTM)
100 Barr Harbor Drive
West Conshocken, PA 19428
610-832-9500
www.astm.org
National Operating Committee On Standards For Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE)
PO Box 12290
Overland, KS 66282
913-888-1340
www.nocsae.org
Snell Memorial Foundation (SNELL)
3628 Madison Avenue, Suite 11
North Highlands, CA 95660
916-331-5073
www.smf.org
American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
11 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
212-642-4900
www.ansi.org
Equipment Certifications
Protective Eyewear
Protective eyewear standards currently exist for racket sports, women's lacrosse, paintball, and youth baseball. They have been developed through voluntary consensus by subcommittees of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) which include concerned manufacturers, consumers, experts, and other interested parties. The following organization has been created to assist consumers, sports organizations, eye care professionals, manufacturers and sports officials. The PECC seal on protective eyewear will assure that it protects adequately and has been tested and certified.
Protective Eyewear Certification Council (PECC)
c/o Paul F. Vinger, MD
297 Heath's Bridge Road
Concord, MA 01742
www.protecteyes.org
Hockey Equipment
Hockey Equipment Certification Council (HECC)
www.hecc-hockey.org/certified.htm
Helmets
Helmets have been proven effective in either preventing brain injury or reducing the severity of brain and head injuries. Helmets do not protect the neck.
Sport specific helmets have been designed to address different risk factors peculiar to each sport. Variables include different biomechanical forces on the skull and various possible impact sites. Forces differ because of distances to the ground associated with falls, playing surfaces, playing equipment, and speed of movement intrinsic to the sport.
Helmets have been either mandated or recommended for the following sports and recreational activities:
auto & motor sports equestrian sports rollerblading snowmobiling baseball football rugby women's softball bicycling hockey skateboarding wrestling boxing lacrosse skiing Standards for helmets have been developed by the American Society for Testing & Materials, National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment, Snell Memorial Foundation, and the American National Standards Institute.
For more information on helmets, see the National Youth Sports Safety Foundation's publication list.
Mouth Guards
Mouth protectors help prevent injury to the mouth, teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue. They also cushion blows that might cause concussions or jaw fractures. Even though a mouth protector is worn, it is still possible for a tooth to be knocked out; however, the wearing of a protector will reduce tooth injuries to a minimum. It is recommended that mouth guards be worn by all athletes during practice and competition of contact and collision sorts.
The American Dental Association recommends mouth guards for the following sports:
acrobatics football martial arts skiing volleyball basketball gymnastics racquetball skydiving water polo boxing handball rugby soccer weight lifting discus throwing ice hockey shot putting squash wrestling field hockey lacrosse skate boarding surfing For more information:
American Dental Association (ADA)
211 E Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
312-440-2500
www.ada.orgThe American Society for Testing & Materials has developed standards for the care and use of mouth guards.
For more information on dental injuries see the Foundation's publication list.
Face Protection
The American Society for Testing and Materials has developed standards for face protection for baseball and ice hockey.
Youth Baseball
In June, 1996, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) issued findings of their research on baseball protective equipment.
The CPSC announced that Safety equipment for baseball could significantly reduce the amount and severity of 58,000 (or almost 36 percent of) baseball-related injuries to children each year. Conclusions from the CPSC Study:
Baseball protective equipment currently on the market may prevent, reduce, or lessen the severity of more than 58,000 injuries or almost 36 percent an estimated 162,100 hospital emergency-room-treated, baseball-related injuries occurring to children each year.
Softer-than-standard balls may prevent, reduce, or lessen the severity of the 47,900 ball impact injuries to the head and neck.
Batting helmets with face guards may prevent, reduce, or lessen the severity of about 3,900 facial injuries occurring to batters in organized play.
Safety release bases that leave no holes in the ground or parts of the base sticking up from the ground when the base is released may prevent, reduce, or lessen the severity of the 6,600 base-contact sliding injuries occurring in organized play.
For more information contact the CPSC, Washington, DC, www.cpsc.gov. For more information on baseball injuries, see the Foundation's publication list.
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