Ice hockey injuries: incidence, nature and causes.

Abstract

In this prospective study, we have investigated incidence of injuries of different severity, types of injury, and mechanisms of injury during ice hockey games. All twelve Swedish elite hockey teams were observed during the season 1988-1989 when a total number of 664 games were played. There was a total number of 285 Material and methodsBefore the start of the hockey season 1981-1989, the physicians of all teams of the highest Swedish hockey division (elite league) attended an information meeting concerning the background and purpose of this investigation. The physicans were instructed to record all injuries on a special card5 and to send these cards to one of the authors (YT). Thus, clinical examination and registration were always performed by the team physicans. Attendence records for practice sessions and games were, in most teams, kept by the assistant coach.Most Swedish elite players are subsidized amateurs having a half-time appointment in addition to ice hockey.Injury was defined as any injury occurring during ice practices or games and causing the player to stop playing or to miss the next practice session or game5 16. Facial lacerations, which are common in ice hockey, but do not cause absence from practice or games, are also reported.Injuries were classified as traumatic or over-use injuries. In the latter category there was an often insidious and gradually increasing intensity of discomfort, but no obvious trauma. Injuries were also classified into three categories of severity: minor (an absence from practice of less than 7 days), moderate (an absence of 8 to 30 days), and major (an absence of over 30 days). Return to participation in practice or game after an injury was determined by the team physicians.There were 12 teams in the highest Swedish hockey division. These teams played a total of 664 games. For purposes of calculating the incidence of injury during games, six players were assumed to be on the ice at any one time, making a total of 3984 player-game hours. ResultsThere was a total of 285 injuries. These 285 injuries occurred at 267 occasions; at 18 times one player had two injuries at one and the same time. As for severity, 174 (61.1%) injuries were classified as minor, 66 (22.3%) were moderate, and 25 (8.8%) were major. In 20 cases, the severity of the injury has not been possible to establish. One player was permanently severely disabled and became tetraplegic due to a fracture-dislocation of the cervical spine. Two players had to terminate their career with chronic knee instability and disabling multidirectional shoulder instability respectively.Of the total 285 injuries, 211 (74.0%) occurred during games and 74 (26.0%) during practice. For the individual player, the incidence of injury was 53.0 per Br J Sp Med 1991; 25(2) 87

Characteristics of Ice Hockey–Related Injuries Treated in US Emergency Departments, 2001–2002

“…18,36 Our findings on the high incidence of injuries in adolescents highlight the need for in- creased education and prevention strategies that target (1) officials to consistently enforce existing gameplay rules, (2) coaches to universally train players how to properly give and receive checks, and (3) players to recognize limitations of protective gear. Consistent with previous research, 3,8,22 our ED data showed that lacerations, contusions, and abrasions accounted for almost half of all injuries. It is interesting that studies have reported strains and sprains to be the most frequent injury, representing up to 5-fold the percentage of fractures, 3,8,22 yet in our study of injuries that were treated in the ED, fractures account for a similar percentage of injuries as strains and sprains.…”

“…Consistent with previous research, 3,8,22 our ED data showed that lacerations, contusions, and abrasions accounted for almost half of all injuries. It is interesting that studies have reported strains and sprains to be the most frequent injury, representing up to 5-fold the percentage of fractures, 3,8,22 yet in our study of injuries that were treated in the ED, fractures account for a similar percentage of injuries as strains and sprains. This is likely related to the severity of injuries presenting to an ED compared with overall patterns of injury.…”

“…[28][29][30][31][32][33] This age group has numerous ice hockey participants, 90% of which are male, and checking is allowed in most leagues. 20,34 Checking is a controversial issue in youth ice hockey and may be a contributing factor to these injuries, 4,8,12,17,35 although NEISS does not record this variable specifically. One study of a Minnesota youth hockey league showed that 86% of all injuries involved checking.…”

“…3 Previous studies conducted worldwide have shown that the rate of injury increases as the size and the speed of players increase, as well as when checking is allowed. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] As standards for helmets and face masks evolved to cover more surface area and to improve safety design, the number of head, eye, and dental injuries decreased; however, the number of spinal cord injuries increased. [13][14][15][16][17] This increase is explained by studies on injury risk perception that have shown up to 55% of youth ice hockey players believe that brain and/or spinal cord injury is impossible while wearing the required protective gear.…”

“…[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18] In the United States, ice hockey is a popular sport, with Ͼ530 000 registered players, including 370 458 youths, 20 yet no study has evaluated ice hockeyrelated injuries in the United States using a nationally representative database. Data from previous studies [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]21 were collected from regional tournaments, collegiate teams, local emergency departments (EDs), and different countries. Some studies collected data only on male ice hockey players, 17,22,23 although registration data shows that females account for almost 10% of all ice hockey players in the United States.…”