title: Head-impact mechanisms in men's and women's collegiate ice hockey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Concussion injury rates in men's and women's ice hockey are reported to be among the highest of all collegiate sports. Quantification of the frequency of head impacts and the magnitude of head acceleration as a function of the different impact mechanisms (eg, head contact with the ice) that occur in ice hockey could provide a better understanding of this high injury rate.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To quantify and compare the per-game frequency and magnitude of head impacts associated with various impact mechanisms in men's and women's collegiate ice hockey players.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cohort study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Collegiate ice hockey rink.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-three men and 31 women from 2 National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I ice hockey teams.
  
  
  METHODS
  We analyzed magnitude and frequency (per game) of head impacts per player among impact mechanisms and between sexes using generalized mixed linear models and generalized estimating equations to account for repeated measures within players.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants wore helmets instrumented with accelerometers to allow us to collect biomechanical measures of head impacts sustained during play. Video footage from 53 games was synchronized with the biomechanical data. Head impacts were classified into 8 categories: contact with another player; the ice, boards or glass, stick, puck, or goal; indirect contact; and contact from celebrating.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For men and women, contact with another player was the most frequent impact mechanism, and contact with the ice generated the greatest-magnitude head accelerations. The men had higher per-game frequencies of head impacts from contact with another player and contact with the boards than did the women (P < .001), and these impacts were greater in peak rotational acceleration (P = .027).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Identifying the impact mechanisms in collegiate ice hockey that result in frequent and high-magnitude head impacts will provide us with data that may improve our understanding of the high rate of concussion in the sport and inform injury-prevention strategies.
authors.affiliation: Bioengineering Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedics, The Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University and Rhode Island Hospital, Providence.
authors.forename: Bethany J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Wilcox
authors.forename: Jason T
authors.initials: JT
authors.lastname: Machan
authors.forename: Jonathan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Beckwith
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Greenwald
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Burmeister
authors.forename: Joseph J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Crisco
mesh_terms: D000054:Acceleration; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001265:Athletic Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D001924:Brain Concussion / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006257:Head / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006260:Head Protective Devices; D006688:Hockey / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D012237:Rhode Island / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: concussion; impact biomechanics; sex; sport
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