ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To examine the nature and incidence of injuries suffered by a sample of recreational and old-timer ice hockey players. DESIGN: Random sample of teams followed prospectively. SETTING: Various hockey rinks in the Greater Edmonton Region. PARTICIPANTS: Four hundred and thirty-one subjects--287 adult male recreational (AMRL) and 144 male old-timer (OTL) from five leagues were followed over the 1992-93 hockey season. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injuries sustained during the duration of a hockey season. RESULTS: A total of 151 injuries (100 AMRL and 51 OTL) were reported. The aggregate injury rate was 12.2/1000 player-exposures (12.3 AMRL and 12.0 OTL). The anatomic region most often injured by AMRL players was the head/neck/facial area (32%) while OTL players reported a greater proportion of lower extremity injuries (40%). Both groups reported sprains/strains as the most common diagnosis (35% AMRL and 47% OTL). The predominant injury mechanism for AMRL players was stick contact (24%) and for OTL players was puck contact (23%). No significant differences were detected between the anatomic, diagnostic, and mechanistic distributions of injury between AMRL and OTL players. Seventy-five percent of injuries occurred during league games, 10% during playoff games, 5% during tournament games, and 10% during practices. Penalties were assessed in 31% of injury instances. Forty-two percent of head/neck/facial injuries, 32% of upper extremity injuries, 13% of torso injuries, and 15% of lower extremity occurred as a result of penalizable behavior (p = 0.01). Three percent of players wearing full or half face protectors suffered facial injuries while 9% of players not wearing facial protection reported facial injuries (p = 0.03; Relative Risk = 2.56). CONCLUSIONS: The injury rates observed were lower than reported rates for major/elite hockey. The proportion of players injured through body contact was lower than that observed in adult major/elite hockey while the diagnostic and anatomic distribution of injury was similar. Studies such as this are useful in the development of injury prevention strategies.
Subject(s)
Hockey/injuries , Adult , Alberta/epidemiology , Biomechanical Phenomena , Head Protective Devices , Humans , Incidence , Male , Population Surveillance , Prospective Studies , Risk , Wounds and Injuries/epidemiology , Wounds and Injuries/etiology , Wounds and Injuries/prevention & controlABSTRACT
A group of fifteen boys (experimental or competitive) were studied over a five year period of competitive ice hockey beginning at age 8. The subjects were members of a team which averaged 66 games per year, ranging from 50 at age 8 to 78 at age 12. In addition, they practiced twice a week with heavy stress on skating and individual puck handling skills. A second group of eleven boys (control or less competitive) were studied from age 10 to 12. The latter subjects played an average of 25 games per year and practiced once a week. All subjects were measured each year on skating and puck control skills, fitness-performance tests, grip strength, physical work capacity as well as height and weight. The results demonstrate learning curves for skating and puck control tests which, while typical in nature, show extremely high levels of achievement. Fitness-Performance, grip strength and physical work capacity levels of the competitive group are extremely high in comparison with data from other countries.
