Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Background Information on ice hockey injuries at the international level is very limited. The aim of the study was to analyse the incidence, type, mechanism and severity of ice hockey injuries in men's international ice hockey tournaments.
Methods All the injuries in men's International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship tournaments over a 7-year period were analysed using a strict definition of injury, standardised reporting strategies and an injury diagnosis made by a team physician.
Results 528 injuries were recorded in games resulting in an injury rate of 14.2 per 1000 player-games (52.1/1000 player-game hours). Additionally, 27 injuries occurred during practice. For WC A-pool Tournaments and Olympic Winter Games (OWG) the injury rate was 16.3/1000 player-games (59.6/1000 player-game hours). Body checking, and stick and puck contact caused 60.7% of the injuries. The most common types of injuries were lacerations, sprains, contusions and fractures. A laceration was the most common facial injury and was typically caused by a stick. The knee was the most frequently injured part of the lower body and the shoulder was the most common site of an upper body injury. Arenas with flexible boards and glass reduced the risk of injury by 29% (IRR 0.71, (95% CI 0.56 to 0.91)).
Conclusions The incidence of injury during international ice hockey competition is relatively high. Arena characteristics, such as flexible boards and glass, appeared to reduce the risk of injury.
Introduction
The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF), founded on 15 May 1908 in Paris, France, is the governing body of international ice hockey and inline hockey. The IIHF is comprised of 72 member associations, each of which is the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey. The IIHF also presides over ice hockey in the Olympic Games and the IIHF World Championships (WC) at all levels, that is, men, women, junior under-20, junior under-18 and women under-18. Each season, the IIHF, in collaboration with the local organising committee, runs Men's WC in the six different categories. The teams are qualified to the divisions and groups according to IIHF World ranking. Ice hockey is also the biggest team sport in the Olympic Winter Games (OWG).
Each ice hockey team typically consists of 22 players, including two wingers, one centre, two defencemen and a goalkeeper who are usually on the ice at the same time. The active playing time is three periods of 20 min each. In ice hockey, body contact is common and body checking is permitted in the men's game. Ice hockey is also associated with many other potential risk factors, such as unintended collisions, high velocity, rapid changes in direction and traumas from the boards, stick or puck. As a result, a wide variety of injuries ensue. Facial injuries and concussion have been reported in epidemiological studies at other levels of the sport including in the National Hockey League (NHL; USA and Canada). However, the risk, type, mechanism and severity of ice hockey injuries at the international elite level have not been well studied.
The purpose of this study was to assess the incidence, nature, causes and severity of ice hockey injuries among IIHF men's WC and Olympic Games between 2006 and 2013.