Intercollegiate ice hockey injuries: a causal analysis

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships of position, mechanism of injury, type of injury, and body part injured to days lost. A causal analysis within a prospective cohort was used for this project. Seven schools from Hockey East and Eastern Collegiate Athletic Conference participated in this project for three consecutive competitive seasons. The independent variables were position, mechanism of injury, and body part injured. The dependent variable was days lost due to injury. The entire causal model was statistically significant, with the variables of body part injured, mechanism of injury, and injury type accounting for 52% of the variance associated with days lost. The most important variable related to days lost was injury type and accounted for 43% of the variance associated with days lost. We found that fractures and dislocations resulted in an average of 22.22 days lost and sprains resulted in a mean of 13.61 days lost. The causal analysis demonstrated that body part injured, mechanism of injury, and injury type are important factors related to days lost. Those players who experience a fracture/dislocation or sprain of the lower extremity will tend to lose 2 weeks or more of participation. Studies such as this are useful in examining the multivariate circumstances surrounding an injury episode.