Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Background Training and game loads are potential risk factors of injury in junior elite ice hockey, but the association of training and game loads to injuries is unknown. Objective Investigate the association of chronic training and game loads to injury risk in junior male elite ice hockey players. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Male junior ice hockey players at sports-specific high schools during the 2018–2019 school year. Participants A total of 159 male junior ice hockey players (mean age, 16 years; range, 15–19 years). Interventions Players reported all health problems every week using the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center Overuse Questionnaire on Health Problems (OSTRC-H2). The number of training sessions and games was reported for 33 weeks. Main outcome measurements We calculated the previous 2-week difference in training/game loads as well as the cumulative training/game loads of the previous 2, 3, 4, and 6 weeks and explored potential associations between training/game loads and injury risk using mixed-effects logistic regression. Results The players reported 133 acute injuries, 75 overuse injuries, and 162 illnesses in total, and an average of 8.8 (SD ±3.9) training sessions and 0.9 (SD ± 1.1) games per week. We found no association between the difference of the two previous weeks or the previous 2- 3- and 4-week cumulative, training or game load and acute injuries, nor the difference of the two previous weeks, or the previous 4- and 6-week cumulative, training or game load and overuse injuries (OR, ∼1.0; P > .05 in all models). Conclusion In the current study of junior elite ice hockey players, there was no evidence of an association between cumulative exposure to training/game loads and injury risk.
Anine Nordstrøm (Fri,) studied this question.