The Lasting Effects of Brain Injury
Established in action sports, MIPS broadens its range to help protect hockey players from brain injuries resulting from rotational motion.
MIPS, the world leader in brain protection systems within helmet safety, has partnered with premier hockey brand TRUE to develop the first MIPS-equipped hockey helmet, the Dynamic 9 Pro, slated for release later this year. The MIPS system, based on over 20 years of research and testing at the The Royal Institute of Technology (Stockholm, Sweden), adds a special layer to abate rotational motion and potentially reduce the risk for injuries like concussions, DAI (Diffuse Axonal Injury) and subdural hematoma from rotational impacts.
The MIPS system is built on the idea that the rotation of the brain, relative to the skull, creates a tearing of the brain tissue, potentially leading to hematoma, edema, and concussions. By creating a low friction layer inside the helmet, the helmet mimics the body’s own cerebrospinal fluid, creating a suspension where the rotational motion is reduced.
As The Atlantic points out, the link between sports and brain injuries is not new. Originally studied in boxers, doctors in the 1920s diagnosed dementia pugilistica. In the past 15 years, doctors have zeroed in on CTE (chronic traumatic encephalopathy), described as “brain degeneration likely caused by repeated head traumas” by the Mayo Clinic. Originally diagnosed in professional football players, the disease has since been found in athletes across a wide range of sports. Symptoms include difficulty thinking and processing emotion, as well as memory loss.
Hockey, as a team sport, has been found to have the second-most known cases of the degenerative brain disease, CTE, behind American football (ref.). According to Hutchison et al. 2015 and Post et al. 2019 the most common accident situation on ice, resulting in concussion, is the collision between one player’s head and a body part from the opponent player. The accident could include an impact between the concussed players head and a shoulder, elbow or other body part from the opponent player.
In a long term study by the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (now known as ICES) in Ontario, Canada, 1 in 6 seniors who experienced some grade of concussion in their younger years later developed dementia — a rate two times higher than those who never experienced a concussion. The researchers specifically point out that “the increased risk was distinct to concussions and not found with other types of injury…”
Anna Nordström and Peter Nordström of Umeå University in Sweden came to the same conclusion in their study. Nordström and Nordström found that Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) carries an increased risk for future dementia of up to 80%. “In the first year after TBI, the risk of dementia is increased by 4-to-6 fold.” It was also pointed out that the risk was even higher for those who experienced severe or repeated TBIs.
In an effort to account for these statistics, TRUE sought out MIPS’ expertise, built on decades of its own neurological research and successful transformation of the safety culture in the cycling, snow, equestrian, and motorcycle markets. By partnering with MIPS to create the Dynamic 9 Pro helmet, TRUE is poised to build a safer environment for players around the world.
“We at MIPS are committed to offering the best in brain safety protection,” says Max Strandwitz, CEO of MIPS. “With over 20 years of research, testing, and development, we want to bring the resulting technology to as many athletes as possible.”
The TRUE Dynamic 9 Pro MIPS helmet will be available starting in November 2019. Keep an eye out for more information at TRUE-Hockey.com.
Media Contact:
Greg Fisher, TRUE Communications
greg@truecommunications.com
+1 707 495 3756 (US)
Marcus Lindgren, PR-manager, MIPS marcus.lindgren@mipsprotection.co
+46 70 111 21 21 (EU)About True Hockey
For over 100 years, True Temper Sports has demonstrated a commitment to bringing transformational technologies to
market. Whether it be in its longstanding dominance as the #1 shaft on the PGA tour or through one of its game changing
product introductions in hockey and lacrosse, the True Temper Sports team has shown an unwavering determination
to be #1 in everything we do.
The True Temper Hockey division was established in 2000 with the mission to bring the company’s devotion to the highest
quality materials, the strictest manufacturing processes and the best engineering minds to the ice. For fourteen years,
other leading hockey brands hired True Temper Sports to design, engineer and manufacture over 2,000,000 composite
sticks – sticks that showed up in the hands of countless NHL professionals and provided domination at every level of the
game. In 2014, we made a company-altering decision to enter the consumer hockey market with the launch of our own
consumer brand, and the TRUE hockey brand was born.
We’ve since emerged as the fastest growing brand in hockey, now competing in the stick, skate, protective, helmet and
accessory categories, bringing superior product design, technology, and game changing performance to players all over
the world. With full control of the product, from R&D to distribution, TRUE Hockey is driven by one simple philosophy:
Innovation Never Stops. That’s TRUE.
For more information, visit www.true-hockey.com.ABOUT MIPS
MIPS specializes in helmet-based safety and protection of the brain. Based on an ingredient brand model, MIPS Brain Protection System (BPS) is sold to the global helmet industry. MIPS solutions are patented in all relevant markets and are based on more than 20 years of research and development together with the Royal Institute of Technology and the Karolinska University Hospital in Stockholm, Sweden. MIPS is the world leader in this field and cooperates with 78 helmet brands that offer 448 models equipped with MIPS BPS on the global helmet market.
The company’s headquarters, with 29 employees in research and development, sales, marketing and administration is located in Stockholm together with the test facility. For more information, visit mipsprotection.com.