No injury spike in Bantam bodychecking
Injury and concussion rates similar in minor hockey leagues where contact not allowed until teens
2011-06-21
(Press-News.org) A new study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by University of Calgary Faculty of Kinesiology researcher Dr. Carolyn Emery and colleagues has shown that when bodychecking is introduced into Bantam ice hockey there is no difference between overall injury rates or concussion, regardless of whether players have prior bodychecking experience in Pee Wee.
Emery, co-chair of the Sport Injury Prevention Research Centre at the University of Calgary Sport Medicine Centre, began by comparing injury and concussion rates in Alberta where bodychecking is allowed, to those in Quebec where bodychecking is not introduced until Bantam (13-14 year olds). She found a three-fold increased risk of injury in Alberta, and a four-fold increased risk of concussion.
"When we did that study, we repeatedly heard from advocates for bodychecking in Pee Wee that the injury rate in Bantam would be much higher for players without Pee Wee bodychecking experience," said Emery, who is cross appointed with the Faculty of Medicine. "What we found is that the overall injury and concussion risk did not differ between Bantam leagues."
The Bantam study compared injury rates between 68 Alberta teams (995 players) with 62 Quebec teams (976 players.) As in the previous study, this study used valid injury surveillance and injury assessment by team physiotherapists and athletic therapists, along with follow-up by sport medicine physicians. There were 272 injuries (51 concussions) in Alberta, compared to 244 injuries (49 concussions) reported in Quebec.
The researchers did note a higher rate of "severe" injuries (33 per cent) in Quebec Bantam hockey. "Severe injuries" are categorized as injury that resulted in players missing over a week of hockey. Emery says that this could be related to skills learned in a Pee Wee bodychecking league, or could simply be that the Alberta League has more players who didn't drop out of hockey after bodychecking was introduced in Pee Wee hockey – the so-called "survivor" effect. The most common specific injury type was concussion. Risk was higher for players reporting a previous injury or concussion as well as for players in their first year of Bantam in both provinces.
Dr. Emery, who is funded by Alberta Innovates – Health Solutions and Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Alberta Children's Hospital Foundation, says, "The overall injury rates and concussion rates between the two leagues were very similar, and certainly didn't reflect the giant spike in injury that was predicted by Pee Wee bodychecking advocates. We found nothing to offset the three fold greater risk of injuries and four fold greater risk of concussion in Pee Wee when bodychecking is allowed."
"I hope this study informs policy makers in youth ice hockey regarding the scientific evidence to support the delay of bodychecking in games until Bantam," says Emery. "Our research supports the findings of 14 out of 15 other studies that show a greater risk of injury in a bodychecking league compared to leagues that do not allow bodychecking. In addition, we have clearly shown that there is no injury or concussion spike in Bantam hockey that would offset the 300 per cent increase in injury risk and 400 per cent increase in concussion risk that we see in Pee Wee leagues that allow body checking."
INFORMATION:
END
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2011-06-21
A shorter pause in CPR just before a defibrillator delivered an electric shock to a cardiac arrest victim's heart significantly increased survival, according to a study in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers found the odds of surviving until hospital discharge were significantly lower for patients whose rescuers paused CPR for 20 seconds or more before delivering a shock (the pre-shock pause), and for patients whose rescuers paused CPR before and after defibrillation (the peri-shock pause) for 40 seconds or more, compared to patients with ...
2011-06-21
In a landmark newly published study (http://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2011/985345/), scientists from State University, New York working collaboratively with researchers from HairGenesis, report the positive outcome of a set of basic science experiments designed to test an advanced hair regrowth formula in a cell-based model of human hair follicle keratinocytes. Combining naturally derived 5 alpha-reductase inhibitors with highly potent anti-inflammatory agents, the scientific team showed how their proprietary composition could potentially outperform single agent hair ...
2011-06-21
Chapel Hill, NC – Ongoing research into the problem of how Hepatitis C becomes a chronic disease has uncovered a deeper mystery about its sister strain, Hepatitis A.
Hepatitis C is a continuing public health problem, which is difficult to measure because symptoms occur months to years after infection. The World Health Organization estimates as many as 2 to 4 million people in the United States may have chronic Hepatitis C, and most do not know they are infected. More than a third of those who are long-term carriers may develop chronic liver disease or liver cancer.
"Hepatitis ...
2011-06-21
An exercise training program worked better than a commonly used beta blocker, significantly improving — even curing — patients with a debilitating heart syndrome, according to research published in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) — called "The Grinch Syndrome" because most patients have a heart that's "two sizes too small" — affects about 500,000 Americans, primarily young women.
POTS is characterized by a rapid increase in heartbeat of more than 30 beats per minute or a heart rate that exceeds ...
2011-06-21
Millions of adults with peripheral artery disease are not receiving the medications needed to reduce their risk of heart attack, stroke and death, according to research in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Most patients are not receiving recommended therapies such as cholesterol and blood pressure-lowering medications, the study's authors found. Peripheral artery disease is the result of atherosclerosis, or blockages in the arteries in the legs caused by plaque. People with this disease have a significantly increased risk of having either a non-fatal ...
2011-06-21
For grownups, drifting off for an afternoon snooze is often easier said than done. But many of us have probably experienced just how simple it can be to catch those zzz's in a gently rocking hammock. By examining brain waves in sleeping adults, researchers reporting in the June 21 issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication, now have evidence to explain why that is.
The study finds that napping on a slowly swinging bed really does get us to sleep faster. To the researchers' surprise, rocking also changes the nature of our sleep, encouraging deeper sleep.
"It ...
2011-06-21
Scientists have developed a new method to make proteins form crystals using 'smart materials' that remember the shape and characteristics of the molecule. The technique, reported today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, should assist research into new medicines by helping scientists work out the structure of drug targets.
The process of developing a new drug normally works by identifying a protein that is involved in the disease, then designing a molecule that will interact with the protein to stimulate or block its function. In order to do this, scientists ...
2011-06-21
New research at the University of Leicester is investigating a growing fascination with 'chav' culture among middle-class gay men in Britain.
Professor Joanna Brewis, from the University of Leicester School of Management, UK, will conduct primary empirical research into gay class tourism following publication of findings reported last year in the journal Sociology.
Research she carried out with her former colleague Professor Gavin Jack, now at La Trobe University in Australia, revealed the complex consumer patterns of middle-class homosexual men who go 'slumming' at ...
2011-06-21
PHILADELPHIA — An international research team including University of Pennsylvania scientists has shown that the rate of sea-level rise along the U.S. Atlantic coast is greater now than at any time in the past 2,000 years and that there is a consistent link between changes in global mean surface temperature and sea level.
The research was conducted by members of the Department of Earth and Environmental Science in Penn's School of Arts and Science: Benjamin Horton, associate professor and director of the Sea Level Research Laboratory, and postdoctoral fellow Andrew Kemp, ...
2011-06-21
The risk of developing venous thromboembolism (VTE) may be nearly twice as high for patients undergoing open surgery for colorectal problems, versus those undergoing laparoscopic colorectal (LC) resections, according to a report in the June issue of Archives of Surgery, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.
Venous thromboembolism (the formation of blood clots in the veins) occurs in up to 25 percent of patients who undergo surgery without specific steps taken to prevent the condition, according to background information in the article. The authors note that colorectal surgery ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] No injury spike in Bantam bodychecking
Injury and concussion rates similar in minor hockey leagues where contact not allowed until teens
