Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Performance of football shin guards for direct stud impacts

  • Published:
Sports Engineering Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Football shin guards were evaluated against a kick from a studded boot.The bending stiffness of their shells, and their response when impacted by a stud, were assessed using finite element analysis (FEA) and determined experimentally.A test rig was constructed with the leg muscle simulated by flexible foam, with the force distribution along the tibia and to the lateral muscle measured using flexible force sensors.High-speed photography confirmed deformation mechanisms predicted by FEA.Load spreading from the stud impact site correlated with the guard shell bending stiffness.The best guards use shells of complex shape to increase their transverse bending stiffness.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ankrah, S. (2002)Protective materials for sporting applications — football shin guards, PhD thesis, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ankrah, S. & Mills, N.J. (2003) Analysis of ankle protection in football, accepted bySports Engineering.

  • Beiner, J.M. & Jokl, P. (2001) Muscle contusion injuries: a review.Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons,9, 227–237.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bir, C.A., Cassata, S.J. & Janda, D.H. (1995) An analysis and comparison of soccer shin guards.Clinical Journal of Sports Medicine,5, 95–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boden, B.P. (1998) Leg injuries and shin guards.Clinics in Sports Medicine,17, 769–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • BS EN 13061: 2001Protective Clothing — shin guards for association football players. British Standards, London.

  • Clarys, J.P. & Marfell-Jones, M.J. (1994) Soft tissue segmentation of the body and fractionation of the upper and lower limbs.Ergonomics,37, 217–229.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clauser, C.E., McConville, J.T. & Young, W.T. (1969)Weight, volume and centre of mass of segments of the human body, AMRL-TR-69-70. Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crisco, J.J., Hentel K.D., Jackson W.O., Goehner K. & Jokl P. (1996) Maximal contraction lessens impact response in a muscle contusion model.Journal of Biomechancis,29, 1291–1296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davies, O.L. & Mills, N.J. (1999) The rate dependence of Confor PU foams,Cellular Polymers,18, 117–136.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, H., Logan, B.M. & Dixon, A. (1994)Human Crosssectional Anatomy. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Francisco, A.C., Nightingale, R.W., Guilak, F., Glisson, R.R. & Garrett, W.E. (2000) Comparison of soccer shin guards in preventing tibia fracture.American Journal of Sports Medicine,28, 227–233.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddings, V.L., Beaupre, G.A., Whalen R.T. & Carter D.R. (2000) Calcaneal loading during walking and running.Medicine and Science in Sport and Exercise,32, 627–634.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gilchrist, A. & Mills, N.J. (1996) Protection of the side of the head.Accident Analysis and Prevention,28, 525–535.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hawkins, R.D. & Fuller, C.W. (1999) A prospective study of injuries in four professional football clubs.British Journal of Sports Medicine,33, 196–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heiner, A.D. & Brown, T.D. (2001) Structural properties of a new design of composite replicate femurs and tibias,Journal of Biomechanics,34, 773–781.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lees, A. & Nolan, L. (1998) The biomechanics of soccer.Journal of Sports Sciences,16, 211–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lees, A. & Cooper, S. (1995) The shock attenuation characteristics of soccer shin guards. In:Sport Leisure and Ergonomics (eds G. Atkinson & T. Reilly), pp. 130–135. Spon, London.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mills, N.J. & Zhang, P. (1989) The effects of contact conditions on impact tests on plastics.Journal of Materials Science,24, 2099–2109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nyquist, G.W. Cheng, R., El-Bohy, A.A. & King, A.I. (1985) Tibia bending: strength and response.29th Stapp Car Crash Conference, Society of Automotive Engineers, Warrendale, PA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogden, R.W. (1972) Large deformation isotropic elasticity.Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series A 328, 567–583.

    Article  MATH  Google Scholar 

  • Phillipens, M. & Wismans, J. (1989) Shin guard impact protection.IRCOBI Conference, pp. 650–676, INRETS, Bron, France.

    Google Scholar 

  • Verdejo, R. & Mills, N.J. (2002) Performance of EVA foams in running shoes. In:The Engineering of Sport 4 (eds S. Ujihashi & S.J. Haake), pp. 580–587. Blackwell, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Engineering, Metallurgy and Materials, The University of Birmingham, B15 2TT, Edgbaston, Birmingham

    S. Ankrah & N. J. Mills

Authors
  1. S. Ankrah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. N. J. Mills
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to N. J. Mills.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Ankrah, S., Mills, N.J. Performance of football shin guards for direct stud impacts. Sports Eng 6, 207–219 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02844024

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02844024

Keywords

Search

Navigation