Development of a test method for assessing laceration injury risk of individual cleats during game-relevant loading conditions†

Professional rugby union players experience an injury once every 10 matches, and up to 23% of these injuries are skin lacerations. Current regulations to assess laceration injury risk of cleated footwear involve two optional mechanical tests for manufacturers: a drop test and a pendulum test. However, there is limited rationale for these tests and associated impact parameters. A questionnaire among 191 rugby players showed that the ruck is the most prevalent game scenario in which skin laceration injuries occur. During the ruck, laceration injuries result from stamping movements by players wearing cleated footwear. A biomechanical study was conducted to obtain game-relevant impact parameters of stamping in the ruck. Eight participants were asked to perform 10 stamps on an anthropomorphic test device. Kinetic and kinematic data were clustered – identifying two distinct phases of the stamp motion – providing test parameters for mechanical assessment of skin laceration risk. A two-phase mechanical test was d...