| Description |
Due to the physical, fast, and unpredictable nature of ice hockey, preventing injuries is of utmost importance for sports medicine professionals. Both physical contact and the excessive forces generated during both acceleration and deceleration phases of skating put ice hockey players at a much higher risk for injury to their groin and hip area compared to most other sports. It is still unknown, however, what preventative intervention is most effective in reducing groin injury incidence rate while increasing groin strength. There is also a lack of evidence to show if implementing the intervention throughout the season will help decrease injury incidence rate compared to the national averages and previous team rates. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to use the adductor squeeze test to determine whether a strengthening or flexibility intervention would increase adductor squeeze test values and if implementing that intervention throughout a competitive season would decrease groin injury incidence rate. It was expected that the groin strengthening program would prove to be most effective in both increasing adductor squeeze test values as well as decreasing injury incidence rate over the course of a competitive ice hockey season. Methods: In the first part of the study, participants were split into two different intervention groups, both flexibility and strength, and completed a groin strength test both pre and post a four week long preseason. For the second part of the study, the participant's groin strength was monitored every required practice and game time. If a participant dropped below the previous three day average, they were required to complete an intervention, dictated by Part 1 of the study, for a minimum of three days until their score increased back to their average. Results: A total of 27 healthy male ice hockey players were enrolled in both parts of the study. Part 1 yielded a total of 22 participants completing 90% compliance while Part 2 yield a total of 14 participants completing 90% compliance. There was no significant difference between the strength and flexibility intervention programs. A total of one time-loss groin injury this season out of total of 18 injuries resulted in 5% of total injuries. Conclusions: This study provides the first season-long groin strength monitoring program in collegiate ice hockey. More research is required to determine the appropriate intervention for groin strength and injury prevention. The overall injury rate for this season was approximately 4% lower than the previous season. These findings are relevant to sports medicine staff who are concerned with preventing groin injuries in ice hockey players. |
