Wrist Protection for Professional Goalkeepers

Wrist Protection for Professional Goalkeepers

Aberle, Noor (TU Delft Industrial Design Engineering)

Huysmans, T. (mentor)
Dehli, S.R. (graduation committee)
Alblas, Norbert (graduation committee)

Delft University of Technology

Integrated Product Design

2021-03-01

This report describes the design of a wrist protector for professional soccer goalkeepers. This project was part of the master’s thesis for the TU delft and has been performed in collaboration with Norbert Alblas and the Fieldlab UPPS. Due to the increasing intensity of the game, injuries are becoming more common among goalkeepers. These include finger, hand and wrist injuries, which have a five times higher occurrence in goalkeepers than in any other player on the field. The goal of this project was therefor to design a strong, comfortable and reliable form of wrist protection for the professional goalkeeper, that they can wear with their goalkeeping gloves. The wrist protector should limit the critical movements while still allowing enough range of motion for the goalkeeper to perform their tasks. On top of this, the wrist protector should be easily donned and doffed and should last the goalkeeper for at least two years. Literature research, interviews with experts and tests were performed to learn more about the context, stakeholders and injuries. Through a survey (n=18) it was found that the majority of the goalkeepers had sustained a wrist injury before and tried to protect their wrists from further injuries. A range of motion test showed that goalkeepers need movement in the flexion direction to perform their tasks. Through literature research and interviews with a hand therapist it was found that the extension direction has to be obstructed to avoid hyper extension of the wrist as this the most common cause of wrist injuries. After creating a current and envisioned use scenario as well as a program of requirements, many ideas were created through brainstorming, sketching and prototyping. Six concept directions were evaluated with a hand therapist, a professional goalkeeper and a list of wishes derived from the program of requirements. The final concept is a personalized wrist protector that uses collision between protection pieces, positioned on the back of the hand, to limit movements in the extension direction. The concept consists of four layers with the top layer being the protection pieces. The protection pieces are designed to create a smooth arc into the limited extension position. Using a parametric model and a 3D scan of the goalkeeper’s wrist, a fully personalized wrist protector was made. The protection pieces are connected to a non stretch fabric layer to allow for flexion of the wrist. Underneath the fabric layer is a thin rubber layer that dampens the movements. The last layer is an under-glove that ensures correct placement and easy donning and doffing of the wrist protector. The design has been evaluated based on the use scenario and program of requirements as well as through testing with a professional goalkeeper and an interview with a hand therapist. The final concept was perceived as a wrist protector with great potential in its functionality. Especially the freedom of movement in the flexion and deviation directions was described as beneficial compared to other preventative techniques and wrist braces.

Wrist injuries
Goalkeeping
Wrist Protector
Design
Parametric Design
Fieldlab UPPS

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:acd60272-ed81-419a-925d-14912f3cc24e

Student theses

master thesis

© 2021 Noor Aberle