Sport, age, and sex specific incidence of sports injuries in Western Australia.
(1/78)
OBJECTIVE: To describe the trends in recreational sports injury in Perth, Western Australia. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study of sports injuries during the 1997 winter season (May to September). SETTING: Sample of Australian football, field hockey, basketball, and netball players from the Perth metropolitan area, Western Australia. METHODS: A cohort of sports participants was followed over the five month winter sports season. Before the season, participants completed a baseline questionnaire and during the season were interviewed every four weeks by telephone. RESULTS: Overall, 92% of participants (n = 1391) who completed a baseline questionnaire completed at least one follow up telephone interview. About half (51%) of the cohort sustained one or more injuries during the winter season accounting for a total of 1034 injuries. Most injuries were of moderate (58%, n = 598) or minor (40%, n = 412) severity, with only 3% (n = 24) requiring emergency department treatment or a hospital stay. The injury incidence rate was greatest for football (20.3/1000 hours of participation), similar for field hockey and basketball (15.2/1000 hours and 15.1/1000 hours respectively), and lowest for netball (12.1/1000 hours). The incidence of injury was greatest in the first four weeks of the season, and participants aged between 26 and 30 years had about a 55% greater risk of injury than those aged less than 18 years. CONCLUSIONS: This is one of the first studies to show that recreational sports are safe. Although the likelihood of injury was greatest in the first month of the season, few injuries required admission to hospital or emergency department treatment. A greater emphasis on prevention in the early part of the season should help to reduce the elevated incidence of injury found at this time. (+info)
Eye injuries in Canadian hockey.
(2/78)
Increasing public concern led the Canadian Ophthalmological Society, in January 1974, to form a committee to study the incidence, types and causes of hockey eye injuries and to devise means of reducing such injuries. Retrospective and current studies were undertaken, and face protectors were tested. In both pilot studies, sticks were the commonest cause and the highest number of eye injuries was in players 11-15 years old. An average of 15% of all injured eyes were rendered legally blind. Cooperation with hockey authorities has resulted in changed rules and their sticter enforcement, and formulation of standards for face protection approved by the Canadian Standards Association. In this interim report the committee recommends that all amateur hockey players wear eye protectors and urges ophthalmologists to participate in efforts to improve the design of protective equipment. (+info)
The impact of face shield use on concussions in ice hockey: a multivariate analysis.
(3/78)
OBJECTIVE: To identify specific risk factors for concussion severity among ice hockey players wearing full face shields compared with half face shields (visors). METHODS: A prospective cohort study was conducted during one varsity hockey season (1997-1998) with 642 male ice hockey players (median age 22 years) from 22 teams participating in the Canadian Inter-University Athletics Union. Half of the teams wore full face shields, and half wore half shields (visors) for every practice and game throughout the season. Team therapists and doctors recorded on structured forms daily injury, participation, and information on face shield use for each athlete. The main outcome measure was any traumatic brain injury requiring assessment or treatment by a team therapist or doctor, categorised by time lost from subsequent participation and compared by type of face shield worn. RESULTS: Players who wore half face shields missed significantly more practices and games per concussion (2.4 times) than players who wore full face shields (4.07 sessions (95% confidence interval (CI) 3.48 to 4.74) v 1.71 sessions (95% CI 1.32 to 2.18) respectively). Significantly more playing time was lost by players wearing half shields during practices and games, and did not depend on whether the athletes were forwards or defence, rookies or veterans, or whether the concussions were new or recurrent. In addition, players who wore half face shields and no mouthguards at the time of concussion missed significantly more playing time (5.57 sessions per concussion; 95% CI 4.40 to 6.95) than players who wore half shields and mouthguards (2.76 sessions per concussion; 95% CI 2.14 to 3.55). Players who wore full face shields and mouthguards at the time of concussion lost no playing time compared with 1.80 sessions lost per concussion (95% CI 1.38 to 2.34) for players wearing full face shields and no mouthguards. CONCLUSIONS: The use of a full face shield compared with half face shield by intercollegiate ice hockey players significantly reduced the playing time lost because of concussion, suggesting that concussion severity may be reduced by the use of a full face shield. (+info)
Cardiovascular effects of strenuous exercise in adult recreational hockey: the Hockey Heart Study.
(4/78)
BACKGROUND: More than 500,000 men play "gentlemen's" recreational hockey in Canada, but the safety of this exercise has not been studied. Exercising at extremes of intensity has been associated with an increased risk of cardiac events. Our objective was therefore to determine baseline cardiac risk factors among adult recreational hockey players and to measure any cardiac abnormalities they experienced while playing hockey. METHODS: We assessed baseline cardiac risk factors in 113 male volunteers recruited from a recreational hockey league. Each subject underwent holter electrocardiographic monitoring before, during and after at least one hockey game (maximum of 115 holter data sets). We used the data to assess exercise heart rate, arrhythmias and ST-segment changes and for correlation with symptoms and other predictors of fitness. RESULTS: For all participants, maximum heart rate (HRmax) (mean 184 [standard deviation 11] beats/min) was greater than target exercise heart rate (calculated as 55% to 85% of age-predicted HRmax), and in 87 (75.6%) of the 115 holter data sets, the heart rate exceeded the age-predicted HRmax. The mean period for which heart rate exceeded 85% of the age-predicted HRmax was 30 (SD 13) min. For 80 (70.1%) of 114 data sets, heart rate recovery was poor. Nonsustained ventricular tachycardia was seen in data from 2 holter monitoring sessions and ST-segment depression in data from 15 sessions. INTERPRETATION: The physical activity pattern that occurred during recreational hockey caused cardiac responses that might be dangerous to players' health. More specifically, the players exceeded target and maximum heart rates, had poor heart rate recovery after exercise, and had episodes of nonsustained ventricular tachycardia and ST-segment depression of uncertain clinical significance. (+info)
Asthma in children exposed to nitrogen dioxide in ice arenas.
(5/78)
Very high concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) have been measured in arenas using combustion engine-powered resurfacing machines. This study was performed to compare the occurrence of asthma in children playing ice hockey in arenas using propane-powered machines and in children attending arenas using electric machines. Children regularly playing hockey in the arenas (nine propane, six electric) were sent a questionnaire, including questions on allergic disease and risk factors. Measurements of NO2 were performed with passive diffusion samplers during 3 consecutive days. The mean NO2 concentration in the propane arenas was 276 microg x m(-3) (range 28-1015 microg x m(-3)) and 11 microg x m(-3) (2-30) in the electric arenas. Questionnaires were answered by 1,536 children (78%), with an overall prevalence of asthma of 16%. The odds ratio (OR) for asthma was 0.9 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-1.2) comparing propane arenas to electric. However, children in propane arenas with higher than median concentration of NO2 reported more wheezing (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.0-1.9) and nasal symptoms (OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3-2.3) than children in propane arenas with lower concentrations. In conclusion, children playing ice hockey in indoor arenas have a high prevalence of asthma, but it appears unlikely that increased exposure to combustion products, including nitrogen dioxide, is a major contributor to this excess risk. (+info)
The avoidability of head and neck injuries in ice hockey: an historical review.
(6/78)
The number of minor traumatic brain injury (mTBI), cerebral concussions, is increasing and cannot be eliminated by any kind of equipment. Prevention strategies, such as the introduction of "checking from behind" rules have become effective in decreasing the number of severe spinal injuries. A new "head checking" rule should reduce mTBI in the same way in the following years. Mouthguards should be mandatory as an effective device for the prevention of dental and orofacial injuries, as well as reducing the incidence and severity of mTBI. A new internet database system, the International Sports Injury System (ISIS) should improve epidemiological analysis of head, face, and spinal injuries worldwide. ISIS should provide an internationally compatible system for continuous monitoring of risk factors, protective effects of equipment, and protective effects of equipment and effects of changes in rules through the years. (+info)
Airway inflammation, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and asthma in elite ice hockey players.
(7/78)
There is little information of lower respiratory symptoms, bronchial hyperresponsiveness and airway inflammation in elite ice hockey players. A total of 88 highly trained ice hockey players and 47 control subjects were studied. All the subjects were subjected to skin-prick tests, resting spirometry examinations and histamine-challenge tests. Adequate induced sputum samples were obtained from 68 of the ice hockey players and from 18 symptom-free control subjects on a separate day. Bronchial hyperresponsiveness in a histamine-challenge test was found in 21 (24%) of the athletes and in five (11%) of the controls. Current asthma (current asthmatic symptoms and increased bronchial responsiveness) was observed in 13 (15%) of the athletes and in one (2%) of the control subjects. Total asthma (current asthma or previously physician-diagnosed asthma) occurred in 19 (22%) of the athletes and in two (4%) of the controls. Atopy, according to skin-prick tests, was observed in 51 (58%) of the athletes and 17 (36%) of the control subjects. The differential cell counts of eosinophils (2.6 versus 0.2%) and neutrophils (80.9 versus 29.9%) in the sputum samples of the ice hockey players were significantly higher than in those of the control subjects. Asthma is common in elite ice hockey players and they show signs of a mixed type of neutrophilic and eosinophilic airway inflammation. Inhalation of cold air associated with exposure to indoor pollutants during intensive training is a possible causative factor. (+info)
Evaluation of cricket helmet performance and comparison with baseball and ice hockey helmets.
(8/78)
BACKGROUND: Protective helmets in sport are important for reducing the risk of head and facial injury. In cricket and other sports with projectiles, national test standards control the minimum helmet performance. However, there are few field data showing if helmets are effective in reducing head injury. OBJECTIVES: (a) To examine the performance of cricket helmets in laboratory tests; (b) to examine performance with regard to test standards, game hazards, and helmet construction; (c) to compare and contrast these findings with baseball and ice hockey helmets. METHODS: Impact tests were conducted on a selection of helmet models: five cricket, two baseball, and two ice hockey. Ball to helmet impacts at speeds of 19, 27, 36, and 45 m/s were produced using an air cannon and a Hybrid III dummy headform and neck unit. Free fall drop tests with a rigid headform on to a selection of anvils (flat rigid, flat deformable, and hemispherical rigid) were conducted. Resultant headform acceleration was measured and compared between tests. RESULTS: At the lower speed impacts, all helmets produced a good reduction in headform acceleration, and thus injury risk. At the higher speed impacts, the effectiveness was less. For example, the mean maximum headform accelerations for all cricket helmets at each speed were: 67, 160, 316, and 438 g for 19, 27, 36, and 45 m/s ball speeds respectively. Drop tests on to a hemispherical anvil produced the highest accelerations. The variation in performance increased as the magnitude of the impact energy increased, in both types of testing. CONCLUSIONS: The test method used for baseball helmets in which the projectile is fired at the helmet may be superior to helmet drop tests. Cricket helmet performance is satisfactory for low speed impacts, but not for impacts at higher, more realistic, speeds. Baseball and ice hockey helmets offer slightly better relative and absolute performance at the 27 m/s ball and puck impacts. (+info)