Injury and Illness Trends in the National Hockey League Following an Abrupt Cessation of Play.
Adam M Pinkoski, Matthew Davies, Mark Sommerfeldt and 2 others
PMID 39628770WHAT IT FOUND
Upper body injury rates rose in the first two seasons after the NHL paused play, but overall injury rates did not.
Injury severity increased slightly each year. Illness rates spiked during COVID surges but returned to normal by 2023.
Key findings
01Upper body injury incidence was significantly higher in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons compared to pre-pandemic levels.
02Average injury severity increased by less than two days per season in the three years following the pandemic disruption.
03Overall injury incidence did not differ significantly in the 2020-21 or 2021-22 seasons compared to pre-pandemic seasons.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study relied on public-domain injury data, which the authors acknowledge can be inaccurate or missing details compared to the league's internal surveillance. It was assumed that any player movement to a minor league affiliate was not injury-related, which may have underreported injury occurrence. Return-to-play dates in the final month of the season may be influenced by a team's playoff status rather than medical readiness, potentially inflating severity scores. The design is retrospective and descriptive; it cannot prove that the pandemic disruption caused the changes in injury rates.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest or funding sources were reported in the provided text.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the increase in upper body injuries applies to all injury types or that the pandemic directly caused the severity changes. The study is descriptive and uses public data, so it identifies trends but cannot confirm causal links between the schedule disruption and specific injury mechanisms.