Hand, Ice Hockey Players, Overuse Injury, Wrist
Conditions
Keywords
ice hockey, hand and wrist symptoms, OSTRC questionnaire, sports injuries, cross-sectional survey
Brief summary
Ice hockey places high physical demands on the hands and wrists due to frequent shooting, passing, and physical contact. This study aims to understand how common hand and wrist pain or symptoms are among ice hockey players in Sweden, and how these symptoms affect training, participation, and performance. Players from different competitive levels (elite, junior, and amateur) and both sexes will complete a structured questionnaire based on the validated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) tool, along with questions about pain intensity, symptom characteristics, and functional impact. The goal is to describe the prevalence and severity of hand and wrist symptoms across different groups of players and to identify potential differences between sex, playing level, and position. No treatment or intervention is involved.
Detailed description
This cross-sectional observational survey study investigates the prevalence, severity, and functional impact of hand and wrist symptoms among ice hockey players in Sweden. Ice hockey is characterized by high mechanical loading of the upper extremities due to repeated stick handling, shooting, passing, and frequent body contact, which may result in both acute injuries and chronic or overuse-related symptoms affecting the hand and wrist. Despite the recognized importance of upper-limb function in ice hockey performance, the burden of non-time-loss symptoms remains poorly described in epidemiological injury surveillance systems. Traditional injury registries primarily capture time-loss injuries and may therefore underestimate the true functional impact of hand and wrist complaints that do not necessarily result in absence from play. To address this gap, players from multiple competitive levels-including elite, junior elite, and amateur ice hockey teams in Sweden-will complete a structured questionnaire during the competitive or pre-season period. The survey is based on the validated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) Overuse Injury Questionnaire, supplemented with additional items capturing pain intensity (numeric rating scale), symptom characteristics (location, duration, and triggers), and perceived impact on training, participation, and performance. The study population includes both male and female athletes across different competitive tiers, allowing stratified analyses by sex, playing level, and playing position. The primary objective is to estimate the prevalence of hand and wrist symptoms, while secondary objectives include quantifying symptom severity and functional consequences, as well as exploring associations with player characteristics such as age, playing experience, and prior injury history. All data are collected at a single time point, and no interventions or treatments are administered as part of the study. The results are intended to improve understanding of the functional burden of hand and wrist symptoms in ice hockey and to inform future injury prevention, load management, and rehabilitation strategies.
Interventions
None listed
Sponsors
Dalarna County Council, Sweden
Study design
Observational model
OTHER
Time perspective
OTHER
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
15 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Active ice hockey players currently registered on a participating team roster in Sweden. * Male or female players competing at elite, junior elite, or amateur level. * Participation in one of the included competition levels during the current season. * Able to understand and complete the questionnaire. * Provides written informed consent.
Exclusion criteria
* Declines participation. * Inability to complete the survey due to language barriers or cognitive limitations. * Acute severe upper-limb injury at time of data collection preventing meaningful survey completion, if deemed necessary for context-specific exclusion.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Prevalence of Hand and Wrist Pain Under Load in Ice Hockey Players | Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment) | Proportion of ice hockey players reporting hand or wrist pain occurring during hockey-specific load-bearing activities (e.g., shooting, stick handling, body contact), assessed using a structured cross-sectional survey including OSTRC-based symptom items. Unit of Measure: Percentage of participants (%) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Severity of Hand and Wrist Symptoms in Ice Hockey Players | Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment) | Overall severity of hand and wrist symptoms during hockey participation, assessed using a structured questionnaire based on OSTRC overuse injury principles and a 0-10 numeric rating scale for pain intensity. Unit of Measure: OSTRC-based severity score (ordinal scale) Numeric Rating Scale (0-10), where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst imaginable pain (higher score = worse outcome) |
| Functional Impact of Hand and Wrist Symptoms on Participation and Performance | Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment) | Self-reported impact of hand and wrist symptoms on participation in training and competition, training volume, and on-ice performance, assessed using structured OSTRC-based items. Unit of Measure: Ordinal scale responses (5-level categories) assessing: participation limitation training reduction performance impairment Higher scores indicate greater functional impact. |
| Characteristics of Hand and Wrist Pain in Ice Hockey Players | Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment) | Distribution and pattern of self-reported hand and wrist pain during hockey participation, including anatomical location, triggering actions, and duration of symptoms. Unit of Measure: Categorical responses (multiple response options), including: anatomical location (e.g., radial wrist, ulnar wrist, fingers, thumb) triggering mechanisms (e.g., shooting, stick handling, body contact) symptom duration (e.g., during activity, minutes, hours, persistent) Results will be reported as frequencies and percentages. |
| History of Hand and Wrist Injuries and Associated Characteristics in Ice Hockey Players | Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment) | Self-reported history of prior hand and wrist injuries, including injury type, timing, and current treatment status, as potential background factors associated with current symptom burden. Unit of Measure: Categorical variables reported as frequencies and percentages, including: presence of previous hand/wrist injury (yes/no) injury type (e.g., fracture, ligament injury, tendon injury) timing of most recent injury (year) current treatment status (yes/no; type of treatment) |
| Clinical Management and Reporting Behaviour Related to Hand and Wrist Symptoms in Ice Hockey Players | Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment) | Self-reported clinical management strategies and reporting behaviour related to hand and wrist symptoms, including communication with medical staff, reasons for non-reporting, return-to-play modifications, and use of protective or symptomatic treatments during participation. Unit of Measure: Categorical responses reported as frequencies and percentages, including: reporting to medical staff (yes/no) reasons for non-reporting changes in playing style due to symptoms (yes/no) use of protective measures or treatments (e.g., tape, brace, medication) |
Contacts
CONTACTDaniel Muder, MD, PhD
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORDaniel Muder, MD, PhD
Centre for Clinical Research Dalarna, Uppsala University, Sweden
Outcome results
None listed