Mouthguards Make You Better?

Any contact sport athlete will tell you that mouthguards are a huge pain in the you know what.  I've worn cheap ones you boil at home and the expensive variety I got through dental consulation.  What gives?  Why are mouthguards such and important part of sports and more specifically MMA?  I've always known it was a good idea to wear one because of the protection you get for your chiclets and the resistance to concussion you are supposed to get but this was actually a bit of a surprising twist for me.

And I thought the interest might be shared by some of the other Maniacs.

 PROPS CBC.CA - Copy + Paste

No Recs - Just a time killer.... not that i think i would get any...lol

 A New Brunswick dentist says his research indicates mouthguards can improve the performance of athletes, and take away their aches and pains.  Dr. Patrick Girouard, of Cap-Pelé, has been testing the theory that the way teeth fit together can affect a person's posture and centre of gravity, helping better performance and minimize the risk of injury.  Girouard, who is conducting the research as part of his master's degree at Tufts University in Boston, recalls hearing about the theory during a lecture by one of his mentors about four years ago.

 He didn't believe it. So Girouard, a marathon runner, decided to test it on himself. He got a mouthguard, anxious to see if it would cure a pain in his right knee. "I basically took his challenge and went out running, and to my surprise, my knee didn't bother me at all during that run," he said. "It was just mind-boggling for me. It was a revelation at this point."  That run inspired the research project, said Girouard, who is specializing in craniomandibular pain discomfort affecting the head and neck.  "I decided to test this theory after seeing how many athletes have to use pain medication on a regular basis. I want to find out how to maximize pain-free performance by an athlete's body using the guards."

 Girouard fit 80 members of the men's and women's soccer and hockey teams at the University of Moncton with two types of customized mouthguards and used electrodes to track their muscular activity.  "The athletes are quite favourable. They're saying that they see a change, they feel a change. I'd say 90 per cent of them have seen a positive change in their posture and their muscular strength," he said. 

"There's a certain hockey player who had a lot of lower back pain. Once we fitted him with the mouthguard, his back pain went away."

 Girouard said he has finished collecting his data on the dental appliances and is working on the statistical analysis for his thesis, hoping to develop the perfect mouthguard.  Meanwhile, he continues to use a mouthguard every time he runs and will be wearing one during the Boston Marathon on April 19, he said.  Mouthguards, which provide a cushion between the upper and lower teeth, are typically worn by athletes to prevent dental injuries during impact-risk sports such as hockey. They help absorb and dissipate force when the upper and lower jaws bang together.

Thanks to Puck Head ---- >  http://www.scrippsnews.com/content/mouth-guard-said-improve-strength-and-reduce-fatigue  --  Very good supporting article!