Acceptability of baseball face guards and reduction of oculofacial injury in receptive youth league players.

GOALS To assess the relative injury reduction effect and acceptability of face guards on batter's helmets. METHODS A non-randomized prospective cohort study among 238 youth league baseball teams in Central and Southern Indiana during the 1997 season. Coaches, parents, and players were asked to respond to pre-season and post-season questionnaires. Approximately one half of the teams were supplied with face guard helmets (intervention); all others used this protection at their discretion (comparison). RESULTS Parents, players, and coaches on the intervention teams reported a reduction in the incidence of oculofacial injuries compared with comparison team respondents (p=0.04). There was no reported adverse effect of face guard use on player performance. CONCLUSIONS Helmet face guards should be required for batters to prevent facial injuries in baseball.