Skate blade neck lacerations: a survey and case follow-up.
OBJECTIVE
To learn about neck lacerations caused by skate blades in hockey.


METHODS
A retrospective Web-based survey and follow-up of registered USA Hockey players.


METHODS
Three hundred twenty-eight thousand eight hundred twenty-one of 457 038 registered USA Hockey players with a current e-mail address were contacted and invited to participate in the survey.


METHODS
Of 26 589 players (5.8% of all USA registered players) who responded to the survey, 247 were excluded due to incomplete data. Of 26 342 surveys analyzed, 23 199 respondents were men (88%), 3015 women (11.4%), and 128 (0.5%) did not designate gender.


METHODS
An original survey instrument was developed, formatted, and linked to a Mayo Clinic Web site.


METHODS
Neck lacerations from a skate blade, including mechanism, severity, treatment required, and the type of neck protector worn.


RESULTS
Of the 26 342 respondents, 11 935 (45.4%) currently wear neck protection and 485 (1.8%) have sustained a neck laceration. When the laceration occurred, 132 of the players (27%) were wearing neck protection. Interviews with 33 injured players established that lacerations were superficial: 20 (61%) required bandaging only, 11 were sutured, and 2 were glued.


CONCLUSIONS
Based on this survey, the currently available neck laceration protectors do not eliminate the risk of a neck laceration from a skate blade.
Stuart
Michael J
MJ
Department of Orthopedics, Sport Medicine Center, and Division of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota 55905, USA. stuart.michael@mayo.edu
Link
Andrew A
AA
Smith
Aynsley M
AM
Krause
David A
DA
Sorenson
Matthew C
MC
Larson
Dirk R
DR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D022125:Lacerations / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D008297:Male; D019838:Neck Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D015995:Prevalence; D019876:Sports Equipment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult