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. 2018 Apr;48(4):849-866.
doi: 10.1007/s40279-017-0839-3.

Injuries in Field Hockey Players: A Systematic Review

Saulo Delfino Barboza  1 , Corey Joseph  2 , Joske Nauta  1 , Willem van Mechelen  1   3   4   5 , Evert Verhagen  6   7   8
Affiliations

Injuries in Field Hockey Players: A Systematic Review

Saulo Delfino Barboza et al. Sports Med. 2018 Apr.

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: To commence injury prevention efforts, it is necessary to understand the magnitude of the injury problem. No systematic reviews have yet investigated the extent of injuries in field hockey, despite the popularity of the sport worldwide.

Objective: Our objective was to describe the rate and severity of injuries in field hockey and investigate their characteristics.

Methods: We conducted electronic searches in PubMed, Embase, SPORTDiscus, and CINAHL. Prospective cohort studies were included if they were published in English in a peer-reviewed journal and observed all possible injuries sustained by field hockey players during the period of the study.

Results: The risk of bias score of the 22 studies included ranged from three to nine of a possible ten. In total, 12 studies (55%) reported injuries normalized by field hockey exposure. Injury rates ranged from 0.1 injuries (in school-aged players) to 90.9 injuries (in Africa Cup of Nations) per 1000 player-hours and from one injury (in high-school women) to 70 injuries (in under-21 age women) per 1000 player-sessions. Studies used different classifications for injury severity, but-within studies-injuries were included mostly in the less severe category. The lower limbs were most affected, and contusions/hematomas and abrasions were common types of injury. Contact injuries are common, but non-contact injuries are also a cause for concern.

Conclusions: Considerable heterogeneity meant it was not possible to draw conclusive findings on the extent of the rate and severity of injuries. Establishing the extent of sports injury is considered the first step towards prevention, so there is a need for a consensus on injury surveillance in field hockey.

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Conflict of interest statement

Funding

This study had no funding sources.

Conflict of interest

Saulo Delfino Barboza, Corey Joseph, Joske Nauta, and Evert Verhagen have no conflicts of interest. Willem van Mechelen is the editor and chapter co-author of the Oxford Textbook of Children’s Sport and Exercise Medicine (Armstrong N, van Mechelen W. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2017. ISBN 9780198757672).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of the studies during the inclusion process. Electronic searches were conducted in PubMed, Exerpta Medical Database (Embase), SPORTDiscus, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) databases with no limits on the publication date
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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