What is the Injury Incidence and Profile in Professional Male Ice Hockey? A Systematic Review.
Marco Cattaneo, Carlo Ramponi, Kristian Thorborg
PMID 38179586WHAT IT FOUND
Professional male ice hockey players had match injury rates of 38 to 88.6 injuries per 1000 hours and training rates of 0.4 to 2.6 injuries per 1000 hours.
Lower extremities and head/neck were common, and most injuries were traumatic.
Key findings
01Reported injury rates in professional male ice hockey were 38 to 88.6 injuries per 1000 hours of match exposure, 0.4 to 2.6 injuries per 1000 hours of training exposure, and 2.14 to 5.6 injuries per 1000 hours overall.
02Lower extremity injuries were the most affected location in five studies, at 27% to 53.7% of all injuries, while neck and head injuries were most common in four studies, at 28% to 50%.
03Trauma accounted for 76% to 96.6% of injuries across studies, contusions for 15% to 46%, lacerations for 1% to 26.8%, and severe injuries for 7.8% to 20%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The review did not combine studies statistically because injury reporting was inconsistent, so the ranges are not one pooled estimate. Included studies varied by country, league, competition type, and observation length from 1 to 10 years, so the rates may not apply to every professional team. Only time-loss injuries were included, so players with pain or non-time-loss hip/groin problems may be missed. None of the included studies reported re-injury or injury burden, so repeat injuries and total absence were not captured. Reporting quality was incomplete: mean STROBE-SIIS score was 33 of 50, with 66% item compliance, and none reported ethical approval or funding. One study relied on retrospective self-report, and concussion definitions changed after 2001, so older studies may classify injuries differently.
Declared interests
The review authors report no conflicts of interest. None of the included studies reported source of funding.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 38 to 88.6 injuries per 1000 match hours as a single precise risk for every professional male ice hockey team. The review included 11 studies with inconsistent reporting and did not perform a meta-analysis.