%0 Journal Article %T Physical contact and suspected injury rates in female versus male youth ice hockey: a video-analysis study %J Clinical journal of sport medicine %D 2023 %A Williamson, Rylen A. %A Cairo, Alexis L. %A Heming, Emily E. %A Kolstad, Ash T. %A Hagel, Brent E. %A Emery, Carolyn A. %V ePub %N ePub %P ePub-ePub %X 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.

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).

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.

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.

Language: en

%G en %I Lippincott Williams and Wilkins %@ 1050-642X %U http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JSM.0000000000001149