Horror injury shows risk of modifying GAA helmets
The dangers of modifying hurling helmets have been highlighted in the case of a club hurler who required surgery after his hand got caught on a metal spike protruding from another player’s headgear.
A paper in the Irish Medical Journal describes how the metal went through the tip of the man’s ring finger and down into his little finger.
The player travelled, with the helmet attached to his hand, to the emergency department (ED) of the Midlands Regional Hospital in Tullamore, Co Offaly “where the helmet was removed, leaving only the metal bar”.
Fortunately, there was no nerve damage to his finger. He was transferred to the theatre, where the metal spike was removed.
The nail bed of his ring finger had to be repaired.
He was told to keep his hand elevated and given antibiotics before being discharged 24 hours later.
The accident occurred during a league match last May when the 24-year-old player struck the helmet of an opponent while trying to catch the ball in his left hand.
His injury was sustained due to the modifications the opposing player had made to his helmet — a single bar had been removed from the faceguard, leaving a sharp piece of metal in its place.
The doctors who wrote the paper, entitled An Unusual Case of a Facial Guard Causing Penetrating Soft Tissue Injury in the Game of Hurling, said they believed there was “a lack of awareness among players and coaches as to the dangers of helmet modification”.
The researchers said although both the National Safety Authority of Ireland and the GAA “forbid any tampering of helmets from their factory specifications” modifications are known to be quite common, with 31% of players admitting to modifying their faceguard in some way.
“These modifications are responsible for some of the most serious injuries sustained in hurling, ie, penetrating wounds,” the researchers warn.
They add that “as footwear studs are checked prior to rugby or soccer and gloves inspected in combat sports, the inspection of safety equipment should become a mandatory pre-match checklist for any referee or match officials”.
In this particular case, the player returned to sport four weeks later.
