According to new research,1 the doubling of the number of ice hockey players in the United States between 1990 and 2006 has come at a cost: a dramatic increase in the number of injuries serious enough to require a visit to a hospital emergency room which has outpaced participation growth and may be the result of increased year-round play and more intense competition at the youth level.
The study found that the incidence of ice hockey injuries increased 163% among youth aged 9- to 14-years and 85% among youth aged 15 to 18 years, and that at least "[p]art of this increase was undoubtedly due to expanding participation."
The study noted that that the number of high school students playing ice hockey increased 88% from 1990 to 2006, with most of the increase occurring in the 1990s (with only a 12% increase from 2000 to 2006), yet the injury incidence among 9- to 18-year-olds continued to increase through 2006, "seemingly outpacing this modest participation growth ... [thus] suggesting [that] other factors must also be contributing to the growing injury incidence."
Among the possible reasons for the increase in injuries, the study suggests are:
Since its release, the study has been criticized for failing to report the rate at which ice hockey participants are being injured; in other words, the ratio betwen the increase in injuries and the surge in participation by children playing hockey, which, according to one article, "would seem to be mandatory for context."3
It has also come under fire for putting under the same umbrella both organized games and those in which people are playing on ponds or open rinks. Said one, "that's like doing a study on youth basketball injuries and including elbows-flying schoolyard ball in the head count."3
1. Deits J, Yard E, Collins C, Fields S, Comstock, D. "Patients with Ice Hockey Injuries Presenting to U.S. Emergency Departments, 1990-2006," J. Ath. Tr. 2010; 45(5): 467-474.
2. "Serious hockey injuries among young children skyrocketing, study finds" Science Blog. http://scienceblog.com/38749/serious-hockey-injuries-among-young-childre... [7] (accessed September 22, 2010)
3. "Study on youth hockey injuries recommends face shields 24/7; http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Study-on-youth-hockey-i... [8] (accessed September 22, 2010).
Created September 22, 2010
Links:
[1] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/1215
[2] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/3041
[3] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/284
[4] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/609
[5] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/305
[6] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/113
[7] http://scienceblog.com/38749/serious-hockey-injuries-among-young-children-skyrocketing-study-finds/
[8] http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Study-on-youth-hockey-injuries-recommends-face-s?urn=nhl-271331
[9] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/body-checking-triples-concussion-risk-in-youth-ice-hockey-study
[10] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/anticipating-body-check-may-reduce-youth-ice-hockey-concussion-risk
[11] https://mail.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/parents-need-to-resist-pressure-from-coaches-for-early-specialization
[12] https://mail.momsteam.com/successful-parenting/early-specialization-in-youth-sports-supported-by-myths-and-competitive-culture-not-facts
[13] https://mail.momsteam.com/concussions/ice-hockey-many-injuries-are-preventable