Pdhpe Task 1

Ice Hockey

Ice hockey is a team sport played on ice. It is a speedy and physical sport. Because ice hockey is particularly physical sport, lots of injuries occur. Even at a junior level ice hockey still has a high injury ratio. Here is a article from the american journal of sports medicine on injuries in junior ice hockey.

“This 3-year prospective cohort observational analysis of elite amateur hockey players ranging in age from 17 to 20 years on a United States Hockey League team describes ice hockey injuries using a strict definition of injury, standardized reporting strategies, and diagnosis by a team physician. One hundred forty-two injuries were recorded for an on-ice injury rate of 9.4 per 1000 player hours. A player was 25 times more likely to be injured in a game (96.1 per 1000 player-game hours) than in practice (3.9 per 1000 player-practice hours). Game-related injuries were more frequent in the third period, and practice-related injuries occurred more of ten in the first third of the season. Collisions represented 51% of the total injuries. The most common types of injuries were strains, lacerations, contusions, and sprains. The face and the shoulder were most frequently injured. A facial laceration was the most common injury; acromioclavicular joint sprain was the second most common injury. Facial lacerations typically occurred in games and were stick related.”

As you can see the injury rates in ice hockey is quite high and today I am going to show how to you as parents, coaches and players can treat, prevent and rehabilitate various injuries that could happen whilst playing ice hockey.

Strains

A strain is a common injury in most sports and can be treated quite easily. A strain is an injury to a muscle in which the muscle fibers or stretch tear as a result of overstretching or other activities where a muscle is stretched and quickly contracted eg in ice hockey when taking a shot at goals. Typical symptoms of a strain include localized pain, stiffness, inflammation, and bruising around the strained muscle.

Treatment: The best treatment for a strain is R.I.C.E.R :

Rest: Stop all activities which cause pain.

Ice: Helps reduce swelling. Never ice for more than 10-15 minutes at a time. Protect the skin.

Compression: Wrap the strained area to reduce swelling.

Elevation: Keep the strained area as close to the level of the heart as is conveniently possible to keep blood from pooling in the injured area.

Referral: If the injury seems more serious than a typical strain medical attention should be seeked.

The injury should also be given cold compression therapy reguarly to decrease swelling. Heat can be applied when the swelling has lessened. However, the early application of heat can increase swelling and pain.

Prevention: the best way to prevent strains is to stretch daily. Strech before all exercise and establish a warm up routine prior to playing. (see in-depth below)

Difference between normal and strained muscle tissue

Sprains

A sprain is the same as a strain but is when you stretch the ligaments and not muscles. The ligament is usually only stretched, but if it is completely torn, a longer period of immobilization and surgical repair may be necessary. Although sometimes the sevirity of the sprain can be judged by looking at the injury it is best for the player to get a MRI scan (a non-invasive method using nuclear magnetic resonance to render images of the inside of an object). By getting a MRI scan the doctor can judge how serious the injury is and treat accordingly. Sprains are graded in four degrees.The first degree is only a minor tear or stretch of a ligament.The second degree is a tear of a ligament, which is usually followed by pain or swelling.The third degree is a complete rupture.The fourth degree requires surgery to heal, and is most severe, and actually breaks the ligament, along with some small bones if severe enough. If you believe a player has sprained his ankle or any other part there are signs to look for such as inflammation, swelling and loss of function. In ice hockey the most common sprain is the ankle and shoulder, this because of turning suddenly and contant barging all the time. Another common sprain is to tear your ACL(anterior cruciate ligament).

Prevention: the main techniques used to prevent sprains is safety equipment such as ankle and wrist guards,these work by stopping your wrists and ankles from bending to far. Sprains can also be prevented by warming up and cooling down properly also you