title: The effect of visors on head and facial injury in National Hockey League players.
abstract: There has been an increase in the number of concussions sustained by players in the National Hockey League (NHL). While wearing a helmet is now required by the NHL, the face visor remains optional. It is unknown to what degree face visors influence concussion, other head injury and eye-injury rates at the professional level. Data from the 2001-2002 NHL season were examined. It was found that wearing a face visor did not significantly influence the prevalence of concussion. Visor protection did, however, minimise eye-injuries and other, non-concussion head injuries. These data suggest that, while a visor may prevent some head and eye-injuries, other measures may be necessary to reduce the number of concussions.
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Neuroimaging Laboratory, 219 Dickson Hall, Montclair State University, Upper Montclair, NJ 07043, United States.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lassonde
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: de Beaumont
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Keenan
mesh_terms: D006259:Craniocerebral Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005131:Eye Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D009656:North America / Q000453:epidemiology; D012042:Registries; D018582:Sick Leave; D019876:Sports Equipment