Using the leg and cricket as examples of an anatomical feature and a sporting application respectively, the severity and probability of injury due to ball impacts typically observed in play are quantified, with respect to their location on the leg, to estimate the level of risk in that region. Results show that the level of risk is greatest in the shin regions of the front leg, suggesting that this region should be offered the greatest degree of protection, as is generally the case in commercially available leg guard designs. Conversely, however, the inner region of the mid聽shin of the back leg is at the lowest risk, suggesting that protection in this region might be substantially reduced, a feature which is certainly not included in current product; such a reduction may significantly enhance the ergonomic performance of the leg guard design.
The findings of this preliminary study indicate that the method offers the potential to quantify the relative risk of sustaining injury, in a sports specific application, as a function of location on the body and is thus a potentially useful design tool for design engineers of sports PPE. Given the embryonic nature of this approach, however, a number of assumptions and additional considerations is presented which reveal that, whilst the technique offers additional design insight, further research is required before it should be applied to equipment design.