The Effectiveness of Various Brands of Padded Compression Shirts
The purpose of this experiment was to test which brand of padded compression shirt provides the most protection to the consumer. This experiment was intended to compare the protection offered by three leading sports gear companies: Nike, McDavid, and Shock Doctor. The results of the experiment could be adopted by football players and coaches to increase the safety of players during games and lower the amount of injuries that occur during play. In collecting the results, one general observation was that the padding on the ribs offered approximately the same protection as the padding on the shoulders. By working on the padding in both areas, companies can improve the quality of their gear to offer more protection.
In this experiment, the amount of force absorbed by the padding in three different brands of padded compression shirts was tested; the data was then recorded. A pendulum apparatus was used with a force plate sensor attached to a punching dummy to record the force absorbed by each hit. The absorbed force was calculated by subtracting the force recorded during trials from the force exerted by the apparatus. The results of the experiment showed that Nike absorbed the most force, followed by McDavid, and finally, Shock Doctor. The shoulder and ribs both offered the same amount of protection for each of the three brands. This is due to the fact that each company uses the same type and amount of padding for both padded areas.
Research Done By:
Christian McCluskey
Cousino High School
Brittany Spicer
Warren Mott High School
Warren Consolidated Schools