Teaching players to anticipate body-checks may reduce the youth ice hockey concussion risk, say the authors of a first-of-its-kind study of head impact severity among youth ice hockey players (1).
The study focused on body position prior to collision (good anticipation, poor anticipation, and unanticipated), collision location (open-ice or along the boards), and the magnitude of rotational and linear forces to the head sustained in collisions. Sixteen male, Bantam-level ice hockey players wore standard helmets fitted with special sensors, which sent data through a telemetry link.
The researchers found open ice collisions resulted in a statistically significant increase in forces to the head compared to collisions along the boards. Most importantly, players in the "ready" position who anticipated collisions, e.g. those whose knees and trunk were flexed with feet shoulder-width apart, who used their legs to drive their shoulders through the body check - suffered significantly less severe impacts to their head during collisions.
Coaches.
Game Officials:
Parents, Coaches, and Medical Professionals:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has labeled traumatic brain injury (TBI) a serious public health problem in the United States. Children under the age of 15 represent up to 40% of the 1.1 million TBIs that result in emergency room visits each year. An alarming number go unreported. As many as 10% of high school hockey players sustain concussions during regular season play; concussion rates during tournament play (from 10.7 to 23.1 cases per 1000 player-hours) is markedly higher.
In a recent Canadian study [1] (2) 11- and 12-year-old who played on Pee-Wee teamswhere body checking was allowed were three times more likely to suffer aconcussion or other severe injuries than those who played in non-checking leagues.
In 2011, USA Hockey approved a ban [2] on body checking before the age of 13, moving up the age at which body checks are allowed by two years (the previous rule permitted body checking in the Pee Wee Division, comprising ages eleven and twelve). A leading concussion expert, Dr. Robert Cantu [3] (3), and the American Academy of Pediatrics, go further, recommending that checking be banned in youth hockey until children reach the age of 14 or 15 respectively.
Sources: "WinterMeetings Prove Productive" [4] USA Hockey (accessed February 3, 2011); Duhatschek E, " USA Hockey considers banning bodychecking for youth players [5]" Toronto Globe and Mail (February 1, 2011) (accessed February 3, 2011).
Footnotes:
1. Mihalik J, Blackburn JT, Greenwald RM., Cantu RC, Marshall SW, Guskiewicz KM. Collision Type and Player Anticipation Affect Head Impact Severity Among Youth Ice Hockey Players. Pediatrics 2010;125(6): e1394-e1401.
2. Emery CA. Risk of Injury Associated with Body Checking Among Youth Ice Hockey Players. J. Am. Med. Assn 2010;22: 2265-2272.
3. Cantu R with Hyman M. Concussions and Our Kids: America's Leading Expert on How To Protect Young Athletes and Keep Sports Safe (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2012).
Updated March 2, 2013
Links:
[1] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/3041
[2] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/3284
[3] https://mail.momsteam.com/node/5390
[4] http://www.usahockey.com/Template_Usahockey.aspx?NAV=AU_01&id=298158
[5] http://license.icopyright.net/user/viewFreeUse.act?fuid=MTE2MTk1MDA=
[6] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/body-checking-triples-concussion-risk-in-youth-ice-hockey-study
[7] https://mail.momsteam.com/concussions/ice-hockey-many-injuries-are-preventable
[8] https://mail.momsteam.com/hockey/increase-in-ice-hockey-injuries-outpaces-growth-in-participation
[9] https://mail.momsteam.com/health-safety/high-concussion-rate-in-boys-lacrosse-blamed-on-intentional-head-head-contact-and-lax-rules-enforcement