Body-Checking Rules and Childhood Injuries in Ice Hockey
Pediatrics, The Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, February 2006,
Volume 112, Issue 2
Ice Hockey injuries are frequently caused by bodychecking. At present, bodychecking is allowed by the Canadian Hockey Association at the PeeWee level and higher (ages 12 and over). In Ontario, children as young as 9 playing in a competitive league are permitted to bodycheck, while in Quebec bodychecking is prohibited until 14 years of age. To measure the effect of allowing the practice of bodychecking for younger players, this study investigated injuries caused by bodychecking (including fractures and brain injuries resulting from concussion) and compared the results between jurisdictions with differing policies concerning the age at which bodychecking is permitted.
Of the 4,736 hockey injuries studied, the majority occurred in Ontario (3,006 or 63%), while only 1,730 (37%) were in Quebec. 59.6% of the injuries were sustained in jurisdictions where checking was allowed. The study found that 10 to 13 year olds had much higher odds of receiving a bodychecking injury where checking was permitted. Injured players in this age group were also significantly more likely to suffer a concussion where checking was allowed. Among older players, there was a higher probability of receiving a body checking injury in the areas that permitted checking at a younger age, which indicates that there is no benefit from learning to bodycheck at an earlier age.
The study concluded that bodychecking can cause increased fractures and concussions when checking is allowed before age 14. This study supports policies that prohibit bodychecking to reduce ice hockey injuries in children.
Alison Macpherson, PhD, Linda Rothman, BScOT, MHSc and Andrew Howard, MD, MSc, FRCSC
School of Kinesiology and Health Science, York University, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Division of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Read Article: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org
Your feedback is appreciated.