Why Hockey Helmets Need A Brain Protection System

Established in action sports, MIPS broadens its range to help protect the brains of 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.

Hockey, as a team sport, has been found to have the second-most known cases of the degenerative brain disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (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 players 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.

As NHL Hall of Famer, Ken Dryden writes on The Players’ Tribune, “Shorter shifts have allowed players to go faster, and the game has speeded up, which has resulted in more collisions of greater force, and more serious injuries to the players — concussions, brain traumas, post-concussion symptoms that linger for weeks and months, and sometimes longer.”

It’s not just the pro players that are at risk. Neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee, a researcher at Boston University, diagnosed C.T.E. in the brains of four former junior hockey players, none of whom advanced to the National Hockey League.

In an effort to account for these statistics, TRUE sought out MIPS’ expertise, built on decades of neurological research and their 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.

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.

Twenty years later, the team behind MIPS has published several peer-reviewed papers on the medical and biomechanical efficacy behind this technology and MIPS-equipped helmets can be found throughout 78 brands in the cycling, snow, equestrian and powersports categories.

“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