CHAPTER 86 • ICE HOCKEY INJURIES 509and Leppanen, 1988). Puck velocity may reach
120 mph at professional levels (Sim et al, 1988).
c. Stick—8 to 29% of injuries (Molsa et al, 1997;
Stuart, and Smith, 1995; Pelletier, Montelpare, and
Stark, 1993)
d. Skate—5 to 11% of injuries, often related to lacer-
ations from sharp steel blades (Stuart, and Smith,
1995; Lorentzon et al, 1988)
e. Fighting—3 to 6.5% of injuries (Stuart, and Smith,
1995; Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark, 1993)
f. Overuse—14.6 % (Tegner and Lorentzon, 1991)
g. Falls—4 to 7% (Molsa et al, 1997; Stuart, and
Smith, 1995)
h. Foul play or illegal play—9 to 16% (Molsa et al,
1997)
i. Noncontact injuries—2.2% (Pelletier, Montelpare,
and Stark, 1993)
•Type of injury
a. Sprain 31.0% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark,
1993)
- Average number of days lost from play due to
sprains =13.61
b.Contusion 21.0% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark,
- c.Laceration 13.0% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and
Stark, 1993)
d. Strain 11.3% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark,
e. Fracture 10.2% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark,
- Average number of days lost form play due to
fractures = 22.22.
f. Concussion 7.5% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark,
- g. General Trauma 5.9% (Pelletier, Montelpare, and
Stark, 1993)
- Rate of injury per site (Canadian university athletes)
(Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark, 1993)
a. Head, neck 10.6%
b.Face, eye, ear, jaw, teeth 17.6%
c. Shoulder/clavicle 14.9%
d. Chest, back 4.8%
e. Arm, elbow 3.7%
f. Forearm, wrist, hand 6.9%
g. Hip, groin, abdomen 6.4%
h. Hamstring, thigh 9.0%
i. Knee 18.6%
j. Ankle 3.2%
k. Foot 1.6% - Injuries related to position on ice
a. Goalkeeper 5.8% (Molsa et al, 1997)
b.Defensemen 31.2% (Molsa et al, 1997)
c. Center 18.5% (Molsa et al, 1997)
d. Wing 36.0% (Molsa et al, 1997)
e. Missing position data 8.5% (Molsa et al, 1997)
f. However, position played has no statistical rela-
tionship to days lost from an injury (Ayars, 2000).INJURIES BY LOCATION- Ocular:Thirty-eight to 47% of sports-related injuries
occur in hockey (Pashby, 1988).
a. Most commonly injuries are soft tissue (34%),
hyphema (27%), other intraocular injuries (23%),
corneal damage (9%), orbital fracture (4%), and
ruptured globes (3%) (Pashby, 1988).
b.Pashby (1988) reported that approximately 15% of
all eye injured hockey athletes were left with an
injury resulting in a legally blind eye (Pashby,
1988).
c. However, 58% of the above would have been pre-
ventable with face shields (Pashby, 1988). - Concussions:Management should be as in any other
sport.
a. Hockey players sustain head trauma and impact
forces from axial loading in a similar mechanism
as football players (Cross and Serenelli, 2003).
b.Unlike football, the hockey athlete is also at risk
for traumatic brain injury through contact with the
hockey puck, which as previously mentioned can
reach speeds up to 120 mph (Sim et al, 1988).
c.Concussions account for 7.5% of all hockey
injuries (Pelletier, Montelpare, and Stark, 1993).- This percentage is likely underestimated, as
many injury reporting studies have only looked
at injuries that have resulted in time lost from
play (Tegner and Lorentzon, 1991; Lorentzon
et al, 1988; Lorentzon, Wedren, and Pietila,
1988). Athletes with mild concussions are often
only briefly symptomatic and may return to
play the same game. As such, many concussions
may not have been identified.
d. Benson and associates included mild concussions
in their head and neck injury study and found a
concussion incidence of 1.53–1.57 per 1000 athlete
exposures (Benson et al, 1999).
- This percentage is likely underestimated, as
- Maxillofacial:When abrasions and lacerations are
excluded, maxillofacial trauma represents 11.5% of
hockey injuries (Sane, Ylipaavalniemi, and Leppanen,
1988). - Blows from the stick represent 54.1% of maxillofacial
and dental injuries, while the puck only represents 14.2%
of injuries to this same area (Sane, Ylipaavalniemi,
and Leppanen, 1988).
•A 69.9% of injuries occur during games with the
remainder occurring during practice sessions (Sane,
Ylipaavalniemi, and Leppanen, 1988).