@article{ref1,
title="Physical contact and suspected injury rates in female versus male youth ice hockey: a video-analysis study",
journal="Clinical journal of sport medicine",
year="2023",
author="Williamson, Rylen A. and Cairo, Alexis L. and Heming, Emily E. and Kolstad, Ash T. and Hagel, Brent E. and Emery, Carolyn A.",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="OBJECTIVE: Canada's national winter sport of ice hockey has high youth participation; however, research surrounding female ice hockey is limited and the injury burden remains high. This study compared rates of head contact (HC), body checking (BC; high-intensity player-to-player contact), and suspected concussion between female and male youth ice hockey. <br><br>DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: Game video-recordings captured in Calgary, Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Ten female (BC prohibited) and 10 male (BC permitted) U15 elite AA (13-14-year-old) game video-recordings collected in the 2021 to 22 seasons and 2020 to 21, respectively. ASSESSMENT OF RISK FACTORS: An analysis of player-to-player physical contact and injury mechanisms using video-analysis. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Videos were analyzed in Dartfish video-analysis software and all physical contacts were coded based on validated criteria, including HCs (direct [HC1], indirect [HC2]), BC (levels 4-5 on a 5-point intensity scale), and video-identified suspected concussions. Univariate Poisson regression clustering by team-game offset by game-length (minutes) were used to estimate incidence rates and incidence rate ratios (IRR, 95% confidence intervals). <br><br>RESULTS: The female game had a 13% lower rate of total physical contacts (IRR = 0.87, 0.79-0.96) and 70% lower rate of BC (IRR = 0.30, 0.23-0.39). There were however no differences in the rates of direct HC (IRR = 1.04, 0.77-1.42) or suspected concussion (IRR = 0.42, 0.12-1.42) between the cohorts. Although prohibited in the female game, only 5.4% of HC1s and 18.6% of BC resulted in a penalty. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: The rates of HC1s and suspected concussions were similar across youth ice hockey. BC rates were lower in the female game, yet still prevalent despite being prohibited.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1050-642X",
doi="10.1097/JSM.0000000000001149",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000001149"
}