1. Conclusions & Implications
Effects of Mouthguards and Type of Mouthguard on Maximal Isometric Movements Such as The Seated Row
Ryan Braich, Ravi Brar, Andrew Mckenna
Douglas College – Sports Science Department
It has been reported that wearing a mouthguard significantly increases strength and power because the act of jaw clenching can result in an ergogenic advantage for athletes (Cetin et al, 2009).
The Jendrassik Maneuver is a prime example that jaw clenching can lead to an increase in the strength of reflexes when using remote voluntary contractions(Ebben et al, 2008).
Introduction .
Figure 7: Average Newtons for all participants for all conditions.
Results
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate clenching vs. not clenching on a commercially available boil-and-bite performance mouthpiece and a traditional, boil-and-bite mouthpiece and the effects on measures of power and strength, specifically seated row peak force in comparison to no mouthpiece use in recreationally trained athletes.
Hypothesis: We hypothesized that the performance mouthguards will have greater positive effects on a maximal isometric contraction compared to no mouth guard and the boil and bite mouthgaurd.
Purpose & Hypothesis
Figure 5: Average Newtons for all participants for all conditions
Condition Comparison
P - Value
No MG vs Cheap
0.96
No MG vs Performance
0.75
Cheap vs Performance
0.79
Method & Materials
Figure 1: Overview of experimental design
Figure 2: Warm up Protocol Figure 3: Boil and Bite Mouthguard Figure 4: Performance Mouthguard
Participants: 16 males, age yrs, height 5’8 – 6’4, weight 150 – 240 lbs
Experimental Design:
Participants attended the lab 1 time to complete all three conditions
Minimum 5 minute rest in between trails (3) + conditions (3)
Each condition was randomly selected
Each trial = 3-5 seconds of seated row using maximal strength
Conditions:
No mouth-guard
Boil and Bite Mouth-guard
Performance Mouth-guard
Figure 8: Protocol for the maximal isometric seated row movement
Seated Row
3 Trials (Best was taken) 5 min rest to recover ***
3rd Condition
3 Trials (Best was taken) 5 min rest to recover ***
Testing Day
5 min Warm Up on Bike
Dynamic Stretching
Fitting for mouth-guard or not
1st Condition
Seated Row position
3 Trials (Best one was taken)
5 min rest to recover
2nd Condition
Mouthguards were to be fitted during rest periods depending on next condition
Figure 6: P – Values for all Conditions vs. each other (An insignificant value may have been the result of a low sample size and/or the experience level of the participants)
Figure 9: Underarmour Armourbite Performance Mouthgaurds
Discussion
Research shows positive findings in anaerobic fitness centered on strength and power when using mouthgaurds (Dunn-Lewis et al, 2012).
Previous studies were centered around competitive elite level athletes rather than the general public.
Some of our subjects admitted to not being familiar with the machine where as some informed us they were. Leading us to collectively account the findings to various athletic ability that each recreational athlete tested displayed.
We concluded that elite athletes or athletes who were familiar with the equipment would generate greater force.
Further, with a small sample size (n=16) generalizations on findings was difficult to claim.
There is a correlation between using different types of mouthguards for maximal isometric movements although the data is not significant.
Although the information was insignificant it was evident that the average of all participants force production was higher when using a performance mouthguard.
Further research is needed with elite level athletes or an increased number of participants to evaluate the significance of using mouthguards.
This study was conducted to help athletes such as power lifters assess the need of a mouthguard to increase power and strength.
Conclusions & Implications
Equipment:
Power lab 5.2
Bio Amplifier
Force Transducer
Fox 40 Master Mouthguard
Underarmour Armourbite Guard
Kettle (boiling water)
Hydrogen Peroxide + Alcohol (cleaning)
Stationary Bike (warmup)
References
Ebben, W. P., Flanagan, E. P., & Jensen, R. L. (2008). Jaw clenching results in concurrent activation potentiation during the countermovement jump. The Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research, 22(6),
Cetin, C., Keçeci, A. D., Erdoğan, A., & Baydar, M. L. (2009). Influence of custom‐made mouth guards on strength, speed and anaerobic performance of taekwondo athletes. Dental traumatology, 25(3),
Dunn-Lewis, C., Luk, H., Comstock, B. A., Szivak, T. K., Hooper, D. R., Kupchak, B. R., Watts, A. M., Putney, B. J., Hydren, J. R., Volek, J. S., Denegar, C. R., & Kraemer, W. J. (2012) The effects of a customized over-the-counter mouth guard on neuromuscular force power production in trained men and women. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, 20,
Figure 9: Cleaning equipment used to disinfect mouthgaurds