Abstract
Sporting activities have an inherent risk of facial injury from traumatic impacts
from fellow competitors, projectiles, and collisions with posts or the ground. This
retrospective review systematically describes the interplay between the type of sport
(including the level at which specific sports are played), the sex of the players
and their musculoskeletal characteristics, the technology behind the materials used,
the protective devices commonly used, the anatomical site, and the regularity of incidence
of fractures. We describe how variations in sporting activities induce different orofacial
fracture patterns, and critically consider the methods used to test protective headgear
against more contemporary techniques. Facial injuries can have a profound psychological
effect on those injured, can take a long time to heal, and have been known to end
promising careers. Use of properly fitted protective head or facial equipment could
reduce the number of facial fractures commonly seen in sports. We recommend that individual
sports should have full risk assessments, and that mandatory standards should be agreed
about protective devices that would be appropriate.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 04, 2011
Accepted:
November 15,
2010
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
