Epidemiology of injuries in National Collegiate Athletic Association men’s ice hockey: 2014–2015 through 2018–2019

Abstract

Context: The National Collegiate Athletic Association has supported men’s ice hockey, a distinct sport that mandates high-velocity gamesmanship, since 1974. Background: Injury surveillance systems are designed to identify evolving injury trends and their temporal qualities. Continual monitoring of collegiate men’s ice hockey athletes remains essential. Methods: Exposure and injury data collected in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Injury Surveillance Program from 2014–2015 through 2018–2019 were analyzed. Injury counts, rates, and proportions were used to describe injury characteristics, and injury rate ratios (IRR) were used to examine differential injury rates. Results: The overall injury rate was 7.65 per 1000 athlete-exposures. Injuries from competition occurred at a rate nearly 7 times that from practice injuries (IRR ¼ 6.54, 95% CI ¼ 6.08, 7.04). The most common specific injury diagnoses were concussions (9.6%), acromioclavicular sprains (7.3%), and medial collateral ligament tears (3.7%). Summary: Injury rates by event type and season segment were higher than previously reported. Contusions accounted for nearly a quarter of all injuries, and acromioclavicular sprain rates increased notably across the study period.