Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the variation of injury patterns between hockey players who use in-line roller skates versus those who use ice skates.
Methods: Injury surveillance was undertaken on three professional hockey teams. Two performed on in-line skates and one performed on ice skates. Injury patterns including mechanism of injury, anatomic location, time-loss from sport, and injury type were evaluated with respect to the use of type of skate. The number of athletic exposures (AE) was calculated for each athlete to establish a relative risk. All athletes were elite professional athletes, and injuries were recorded and categorized by a certified athletic trainer or physician.
Results: Of the 215 games and 1122 athletic exposures evaluated, 142 injuries were recorded that required an evaluation by a physician and 46 of those required a time loss from sport. The total injury rate was similar between the two sports (in-line: 139 per 1000 AE; ice: 119 per 1000 AE) although injuries tended to be more severe in ice hockey (average time loss from sport: ice, 8.3 games; in-line, 6.5 games).
Conclusions: Comparison of injury patterns by anatomic location, mechanism of injury, and injury type were similar between players using the two types of skates except that ice skates were associated with an increase in the number of lacerations, in-line skates were associated with an increased number of injuries secondary to checking and a decreased number of injuries relative to skate equipment, and ice hockey had an increased risk of head and neck injuries compared with hockey on in-line skates.