Dr Pranav Patel shares the injuries in Hockey and its Prevention Strategies.

1. D R . P R A N A V P A T E L
M . S . O R T H O
F E L L O W I N A R T H R O S C O P Y A N D S P O R T S
M E D I C I N E
HOCKEY INJURIES &
PREVENTION

2. MOST COMMON SITES
 ANKLE
 KNEE
 SHOULDER
 FOREARM
 FACE
 BACK
 HAND

3. MOST COMMON TYPES
 Contusions, Abrasions or Lacerations
 Ligament injuries
 Muscle strains/pull
 Dislocations
 Fractures
 Dental injuries
 Stress Fractures/Shin Splints

4. ANKLE
 Most common ankle injury is ANKLE SPRAIN
 Second most common injury is HIGH ANKLE
SPRAIN
 In terms of fractures most common fracture is
BIMALLEOLAR FRACTURE OR POTS FRACTURE
 There have been instances where even ANKLE
FRACTURE DISLOCATIONs have been reported

5. KNEE

6. KNEE
 The most common injury to the knee is ANTERIOR
CRUCIATE LIGAMENT TEAR (ACL TEAR)- during
cutting or pivoting
 MENISCUS TEAR
 Valgus injury causing ACL WITH MEDIAL
COLLATERAL LIGAMENT INJURY
 HAMSTRING PULL

7. SHOULDER
 Due to a fall on the shoulder there can be
 FRACTURES
 DISLOCATION
 CLAVICLE INJURIES
 CONTUSIONS

8. FOREARM
 Fractures of the both bones of forearm are most
common when the player falls on the hand and all
his/her weight is borne by the forearm.
 At some instances there can be other player falling
over the player and hence the weight borne by the
arm increases a lot which gives rise to fractures.

9. FACE
 The injuries to face are usually due to hit by the ball,
hockey stick or elbow of other player
 It includes
 DENTAL INJURY
 CONTUSION AROUND THE EYE
 FACIAL INJURIES
 BRAIN CONCUSSIONS

10. BACK
 The most common problem encountered in hockey is
the
 LOW BACK PAIN

11. HAND
 The most common injuries to the hand are
 PHALANX FRACTURES
 CONTUSIONS
 LACERATIONS
 Due to stick injury

12. SHIN SPLINTS/STRESS FRACTURES
 There can be fractures due to overuse and stress
without proper training
 There can be muscle stretching and soreness without
proper stretching.
 This will definitely put you out of the field for entire
season.
 Stress on warm up and stretching, not
on bones and muscles.

13. PREVENTION
STRATEGIES

14.  PRE-PARTICIPATION SCREENING
 NUTRITION AND HYDRATION
 COACHING WITH EXPERT COACHES
 PROPER CONDITIONING AND FITNESS
 PROPHYLACTIC TAPING AND BRACING
 FOLLOWING RULES
 WARM UP AND STRETCHING BEFORE GAME
 COOL DOWN AND POST GAME STRETCH

15.  PROPER FOOTWEAR
 ATTENTION TO TECHNIQUE
 PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
 PROPER TREATMENT OF INJURIES

16. SCREENING
 All players should undergo pre season screening for
 GENERAL STRENGTH
 FLEXIBILITY
 ENDURANCE

17. NUTRITION AND HYDRATION
 Good carbohydrate intake before games
 Adequate hydration during game or practice session.
(DO NOT WAIT TO GET THIRSTY)
 400-600 ml 30 min prior to playing
 100-400ml while playing at regular intervals
 During exercise and warm up 150-250 ml every 10-
15 min
 Orange or Tomato juice after play/exercise

18. CONDITIONING AND FITNESS
 Training an athlete for Hockey includes increase in
Endurance, Resistance and Flexibility
 Females are prone to have less flexibility at hips and
hence deep stretches and strengthening of hip
musculature improves their performance
 FIFA 11 TRAINING PROGRAMME

19.  CORE STRENGTHENING is important. A strong
core gives good strength in shooting and passing.
 GYM PROGRAMME for lower and upper body also
helps.
 PROPRIOCEPTION exercises for ankle works
wonders.
 AGILITY DRILLS. (run and sudden stop, sudden cut,
sudden pivot, backward run, etc.), gives good body
stability while sudden acceleration and deceleration

20. Hockey Specific Training helps
 Running
 Shooting
 Ball handling
 Passing
 Dragging
 Cone running
 Cutting drill

21. PROPHYLACTIC TAPING AND BRACING
 Most common injury is the inversion of ankle
 Prophylactic taping prevents these injuries upto
some level.
 Bracing can also be done for the same

22. FOLLOWING RULES
 Mostly facial injuries occurs due to breaking of rules.
 The hockey stick is raised above the shoulder and
there can be injury to face
 There can also be injury to face while lifting the ball
higher.
 FOLLOW THE RULES

23. STRETCHING
 Stretching is the most important injury prevention
tool
 Stretching and Warm up should be done always
before games
 Warm up can be running, ball passing game, shooting game,
etc.
 Cool down stretching should also be done after the
game (it relaxes the muscles and prevents post game
injuries)

24. PROPER FOOTWEAR
 A proper fitting footwear should be used always
 Worn out shoes should be changed immediately to
give better performance
 Never use new shoes directly in the game

25. THE FORM AND ALIGNMENT
 Alignment of the lower limb is very important to play
safe sport
 Single leg weight training is beneficial under
supervision
 Resistance training also helps

26. PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT
 All the protective gear should be used routinely and
without any shame
 A coffee table hit on the shin hurts a lot. Forceful
hockey hit will break shin bone.
 So wear protective equipment always be it a training
session or a friendly game.

27. ONE WORD FOR THE GOAL KEEPER

28. PROPER TREATMENT OF INJURIES
 Always stop playing after you are injured. Do not
try to prolong care.
 Meet a doctor as soon as possible
 Never start playing till your doctor says so.
 Playing while the injury is in healing phase can
cause severe injuries as same or different sites.
 Good physiotherapy care after treatment is also
necessary
 Gradual return to sports

29. PERIODIC PROGRESSION

30. ON THE FIELD
 RICE PROTOCOL (REST, ICE, COMPRESSION,
ELEVATION)
 MEDICAL ATTENTION
 STOP PLAYING

31.  NEVER EVER TRY TO BE A HERO AND FINISH
THE GAME ONCE YOU ARE INJURED
 YOU WILL HAVE YOUR DAY. YOU WILL HAVE
YOUR PLAY.
BUT NOT TODAY.

32. THANK YOU