EFECTOS DEL USO DE PROTECTORES BUCALES EN EL RENDIMIENTO ATLÉTICO

Abstract

Mouthguards are safety devices used by athletes to reduce the risk of injury; however, its use can cause effects on cardiorespiratory capacity and muscle strength. Systematic reviews of mouthguards were found, but none that synthesize the effects of their use on the performance of the athletes; therefore, this study seeks to determine the effects of the use of mouthguards on athletic performance. There were consulted the next information sources: Medline, Elseiver, BVS, SciELO, Cochrane, Scholar Google and Europe-PMC. Studies evaluating the effects of the use of mouthguards on athletic performance, in which the participants were evaluated in physical aptitude tests, were included. There were found 47 clinical trials and 2 systematic reviews which indicated that the mouthguards modify the athletic performance. It was demonstrated that the participants showed a decrease in cardiorespiratory capacity while they were using the mouthguards, being the groups with standardized and self-adapting mouthguards, the most affected related with the ones that did not use mouthguards and those who used standardized- mouthguards. By the other hand, studies that evaluated the muscular strength showed an increase in comparison with the groups that did not use the mouthguards. The use of standardized and self-adapting mouthguards decreases cardiorespiratory capacity, while personalized ones do not affect this aspect. In addition, the use of mouthguards of any type increases the strength in the muscles adjacent to the cervico-facial area.