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Review
. 2022 Apr 20;14(4):e24314.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.24314. eCollection 2022 Apr.

Chasing the Cup: A Comprehensive Review of Spinal Cord Injuries in Hockey

Mitchell Self  1 , James H Mooney  2 , John Amburgy  2 , James T Houston  3 , Mark N Hadley  2 , Dean Sicking  4 , Beverly C Walters  2
Affiliations
Review

Chasing the Cup: A Comprehensive Review of Spinal Cord Injuries in Hockey

Mitchell Self et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Ice hockey is a high-speed sport with a high rate of associated injury, including spinal cord injury (SCI). The incidence of hockey-related SCI has increased significantly in more recent years. A comprehensive literature search was conducted with the PubMed, Medline, Google Scholar, and Web of Science databases using the phrases "hockey AND spinal cord injuries" to identify relevant studies pertaining to hockey-related SCIs, equipment use, anatomy, and biomechanics of SCI, injury recognition, and return-to-play guidelines. Fifty-three abstracts and full texts were reviewed and included, ranging from 1983 to 2021. The proportion of catastrophic SCIs is high when compared to other sports. SCIs in hockey occur most commonly from a collision with the boards due to intentional contact resulting in axial compression, as well as flexion-related teardrop fractures that lead to spinal canal compromise and neurologic injury. Public awareness programs, improvements in equipment, and rule changes can all serve to minimize the risk of SCI. Hockey has a relatively high rate of associated SCIs occurring most commonly due to flexion-distraction injuries from intentional contact. Further investigation into equipment and hockey arena characteristics as well as future research into injury recognition and removal from and return to play is necessary.

Keywords: comprehensive review; epidemiology; hockey; mechanisms; spinal cord injuries.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flowsheet demonstrating the review process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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