Environmentally friendly splints developed for hospitals are finding their way into sports

Woodcast is a lightweight, biodegradable material made of wood and biopolymers that was originally developed to replace the plaster casts traditionally used in hospitals. The invention of the Finnish high-tech company Onbone turned out to be so versatile that it is now used in a wide range of applications, including sports.

Uusimaa, Finland, 2021-Mar-11 — /EPR Network/ — Injuries of varying degrees of severity are a constant occurrence in sport. Many of them can be easily treated with various supports. The only problem is that these supports are rigid, often inconvenient and not very environmentally friendly. Woodcast offers a simple process for making supports that are comfortable to wear and thin enough to fit in shoes, for example.

” All that is needed is a hair dryer or heat gun to shape the splint to fit perfectly and provide optimal support for the injured area or a part of the body that needs support for other reasons,” explains Jimmy Takki , CEO of Onbone. “Because Woodcast rails are light and compact, they are always available to the medical team, no matter where in the world the team is training or training. The material can also be easily removed or reshaped by simply reheating it. ”

Lower environmental impact

To accelerate the development of sports solutions with Woodcast, Onbone has partnered with the Finnish Olympic Committee and its team of athletes, doctors, physical therapists and coaches.

“Woodcast is not only used to immobilize and protect broken bones or sprained fingers, but also to prevent damage,” explains Takki. “Many injuries can be prevented if athletes wear individually shaped, lightweight supports with exactly the right level of stiffness. There are numerous competing products of this type, but unlike Woodcast, very few of them can be precisely molded or have such a wide range of different applications. As a product made of wood and biopolymers, Woodcast is also environmentally friendly. ”

Onbone has already developed a new type of ankle and wrist bandage, but there are still a long range of other sports aids that can be made from the material.

“To improve my swimming technique, I recently received laser-cut hand paddles from Woodcast,” reports Kerkko Visuri , Chief Digital Officer at Onbone. “The material is so easy to shape that the paddles fit my hands exactly.”

Test run at the Olympics

The fact that Woodcast is also waterproof makes the material interesting for many outdoor disciplines. This is also the reason why the Finnish Olympic Committee is now an important partner of Onbone in terms of the development of new sports aids.

“This cooperation ensures that product development covers a wide range of needs in different disciplines,” says Takki. “Our rails and hot air devices will also be available to the Finnish team at the next Olympics in Tokyo and Beijing.”

According to the Olympic Committee, working with Onbone is primarily about improving the safety of all athletes.

“We support everything that can prevent sports injuries or help with rapid treatment if they do occur,” explains Ville Köngäs, Marketing Manager of the Finnish Olympic Committee. “Onbone has just the right skills, products and technologies for this purpose. Woodcast is also important to us because we want to reduce the environmental impact of sport. ”

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