Latest news with #Mouthguards
BBC News
12-08-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Flashing mouthguards to indicate HIA at World Cup
Mouthguards that flash red to indicate players require a head injury assessment will make their debut at this month's Women's Rugby World Cup before being rolled out across the elite is the next stage in the development of "instrumented" mouthguards that measure the force a player experiences in a collision and issues an alert if pre-set thresholds are a pitchside doctor receives an alert, triggering a mandatory 12-minute head injury assessment.A player is then checked over and performs a series of coordination and cognition tests to diagnose a a light-emitting diode (LED) embedded in the mouthguard that will be used at the Women's World Cup will also flash red to alert on-pitch officials more quickly and raise at the tournament will stop play on sight of a flashing mouthguard and send the player for an assessment, rather than a pitchside doctor waiting for a break to remove mouthguards contain accelerometer and a gyroscope to measure both the change in a player's velocity in a collision and the rotational force they are subject to. While the thresholds for rotational force are the same for both male and female players at 4,500 radians, an acceleration alert is triggered at 75G for men and 65G for is believed that women are more susceptible to concussion as their game contains fewer head acceleration events, but a similar rate of concussion to the men's mouthguards, which were first used in the international game in WXV in 2023, are not mandatory. Some players have medical reasons for not wearing them, while others have concerns over the use of their data or a Bluetooth unit within their World Rugby says there has been "full opt-in" from players set to compete at the 2025 Rugby World Cup, with two players willing to wear the mouthguards, but unable to do so due to dental tournament begins on Fridayc, 22 August, when hosts England take on the United States.
News.com.au
12-08-2025
- Health
- News.com.au
Women's Rugby World Cup to adopt flashing mouthguards to signal head impact
Mouthguards that light up to indicate a player has suffered a significant head impact will be used at the Women's Rugby World Cup, officials announced Monday. Mouthguards will flash red if the impact is severe enough to potentially cause a concussion. The referee will then stop play and the player will leave the field for a head injury assessment. The aim is to introduce the system into all top-flight rugby. Dr Eanna Falvey, the chief medical officer at World Rugby, said every player at the Women's World Cup, which starts on August 22, will wear the mouthguards, apart from two who wear braces. He added that in the men's game around 85 percent of players wear so-called "smart mouthguards", which are not compulsory. The mouthguards measure how much a player's head moves and rotates in a collision. When it registers an acceleration above a set limit, it will flash. World Rugby data indicates that while concussion rates are similar in women's and men's rugby, "head acceleration" events are significantly less likely for female players. World Rugby brought in the "instrumented mouthguard" at the women's international tournament in 2023 before introducing it globally the following year. Scotland hooker George Turner was the first elite male player to be taken off for a head injury assessment after his gumshield detected a potentially worrying head impact in a match against France in last year's Six Nations. Dr Lindsay Starling, World Rugby's science and medical manager, speaking alongside Falvey at a Twickenham press conference on Monday, said the aim was to help players rather than merely accumulate information. - Foul play - "The data set that has grown over the last year is huge," he said. "So now it's actually making sure that it doesn't just become a data collection exercise but we actually understand what that data means and then start putting things in place for players such that they are actually benefiting from the data that's being collected." Starling added mouthguards could help identify foul play, although she warned: "What everybody needs to understand that, in the same way, a player can get concussed from a pretty small head impact, foul play (can take place) without registering anything substantial." Head injuries have become an issue in rugby union as the game has become increasingly physical in the professional era. A group of nearly 300 former players, including England World Cup-winners Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery, launched legal action over brain injuries in December 2023. The players allege World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and England's Rugby Football Union failed to establish reasonable measures to protect their health and safety. Thompson and ex-Wales star Alix Popham have both revealed they suffer from early-onset dementia. Injuries from head blows are said to have caused other disorders including motor neurone disease, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
Yahoo
12-08-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Women's Rugby World Cup to adopt flashing mouthguards to signal head impact
Mouthguards that light up to indicate a player has suffered a significant head impact will be used at the Women's Rugby World Cup, officials announced Monday. Mouthguards will flash red if the impact is severe enough to potentially cause a concussion. The referee will then stop play and the player will leave the field for a head injury assessment. The aim is to introduce the system into all top-flight rugby. Dr Eanna Falvey, the chief medical officer at World Rugby, said every player at the Women's World Cup, which starts on August 22, will wear the mouthguards, apart from two who wear braces. He added that in the men's game around 85 percent of players wear so-called "smart mouthguards", which are not compulsory. The mouthguards measure how much a player's head moves and rotates in a collision. When it registers an acceleration above a set limit, it will flash. World Rugby data indicates that while concussion rates are similar in women's and men's rugby, "head acceleration" events are significantly less likely for female players. World Rugby brought in the "instrumented mouthguard" at the women's international tournament in 2023 before introducing it globally the following year. Scotland hooker George Turner was the first elite male player to be taken off for a head injury assessment after his gumshield detected a potentially worrying head impact in a match against France in last year's Six Nations. Dr Lindsay Starling, World Rugby's science and medical manager, speaking alongside Falvey at a Twickenham press conference on Monday, said the aim was to help players rather than merely accumulate information. - Foul play - "The data set that has grown over the last year is huge," he said. "So now it's actually making sure that it doesn't just become a data collection exercise but we actually understand what that data means and then start putting things in place for players such that they are actually benefiting from the data that's being collected." Starling added mouthguards could help identify foul play, although she warned: "What everybody needs to understand that, in the same way, a player can get concussed from a pretty small head impact, foul play (can take place) without registering anything substantial." Head injuries have become an issue in rugby union as the game has become increasingly physical in the professional era. A group of nearly 300 former players, including England World Cup-winners Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery, launched legal action over brain injuries in December 2023. The players allege World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and England's Rugby Football Union failed to establish reasonable measures to protect their health and safety. Thompson and ex-Wales star Alix Popham have both revealed they suffer from early-onset dementia. Injuries from head blows are said to have caused other disorders including motor neurone disease, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. jdg/pb/nr
CTV News
11-08-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Women's Rugby World Cup to adopt flashing mouthguards to signal head impact
Mouthguards that light up to indicate a player has suffered a significant head impact will be used at the Women's Rugby World Cup, officials announced Monday. Mouthguards will flash red if the impact is severe enough to potentially cause a concussion. The referee will then stop play and the player will leave the field for a head injury assessment. The aim is to introduce the system into all top-flight rugby. Dr Eanna Falvey, the chief medical officer at World Rugby, said every player at the Women's World Cup, which starts on August 22, will wear the mouthguards, apart from two who wear braces. He added that in the men's game around 85 percent of players wear so-called 'smart mouthguards', which are not compulsory. The mouthguards measure how much a player's head moves and rotates in a collision. When it registers an acceleration above a set limit, it will flash. World Rugby data indicates that while concussion rates are similar in women's and men's rugby, 'head acceleration' events are significantly less likely for female players. World Rugby brought in the 'instrumented mouthguard' at the women's international tournament in 2023 before introducing it globally the following year. Scotland hooker George Turner was the first elite male player to be taken off for a head injury assessment after his gumshield detected a potentially worrying head impact in a match against France in last year's Six Nations. Dr Lindsay Starling, World Rugby's science and medical manager, speaking alongside Falvey at a Twickenham press conference on Monday, said the aim was to help players rather than merely accumulate information. Foul play 'The data set that has grown over the last year is huge,' he said. 'So now it's actually making sure that it doesn't just become a data collection exercise but we actually understand what that data means and then start putting things in place for players such that they are actually benefiting from the data that's being collected.' Starling added mouthguards could help identify foul play, although she warned: 'What everybody needs to understand that, in the same way, a player can get concussed from a pretty small head impact, foul play (can take place) without registering anything substantial.' Head injuries have become an issue in rugby union as the game has become increasingly physical in the professional era. A group of nearly 300 former players, including England World Cup-winners Steve Thompson and Phil Vickery, launched legal action over brain injuries in December 2023. The players allege World Rugby, the Welsh Rugby Union and England's Rugby Football Union failed to establish reasonable measures to protect their health and safety. Thompson and ex-Wales star Alix Popham have both revealed they suffer from early-onset dementia. Injuries from head blows are said to have caused other disorders including motor neurone disease, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease.
