Number of games played throughout the season, asymmetrical and poor dynamic postural control and better explosive athletic performance are all individual predictors of a general or lower limb injury, new research finds.
Reducing Injury Risk in Youth Hockey
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In the study, “Game Exposure, Player Characteristics, and Neuromuscular Performance Influence Injury Risk in Professional and Youth Field Hockey Players,” published online on April 6, 2021 in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers set out to identify factors that might predict injury in professional and youth field hockey players.
“Identifying factors that contribute to the occurrence of injury is an important step in designing training programs to minimize the risk of injury. However, despite high injury rates, variables contributing to injury in field hockey players remain relatively unexplored,” they wrote.
For the study, 83 professional and youth hockey players completed preseason neuromuscular performance testing and were then monitored for injuries, training and game exposure during the 12-month indoor and outdoor hockey season.
Almost 40% of the players were female and the mean age was 20.7±4.9 years. Almost half of the players (44.6%) experienced a time-loss injury during the season, and 73% of these injuries were in the lower limb.
Overall, more game time, older age, asymmetrical and poor dynamic postural control, and better explosive performance together influence risk of injury. When analyzed separately, the number of games played throughout the season was the most accurate predictor of injury risk (area under the curve [AUC] = 0.74; p < .001) while asymmetrical and poor dynamic postural control (AUCs = 0.61-0.65; p = .01-.04), and better explosive performance (AUCs = 0.65-0.67; p < .01) were identified as moderate individual predictors.
The researchers wrote, “A number of modifiable factors were individually and jointly associated with an increased injury risk in field hockey players, providing initial evidence for the design of targeted and sport-specific training programs to mitigate the risk of injury.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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