Thesis (M.A.)--Central Michigan University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 62-64). Also available online (PDF file) by a subscription to the set or by purchasing the individual file.

Thesis (M.A.)--Central Michigan University, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references.

Es la huella que se registró en la historia del deporte chileno aquella noche del 7 de octubre del año 2006. La selección chilena levantaba la Copa del Mundo. Pero no era una selección chilena cualquiera: era de hockey patín. Un deporte que jamás ha sido masivo en nuestro país como sí lo es el fútbol y, en cierto sentido, el tenis. Un deporte que sigue siendo catalogado de segundo orden en Chile, pese a que frecuentemente proporciona destacados resultados en los mundiales de su especialidad. Un deporte que carece regularmente de portadas en los diarios o minutos en televisión. Aún se discute si efectivamente fue la primera vez que un representativo nacional se consagra como el mejor del planeta en un deporte netamente colectivo. Al margen de eso, lo cierto es que las “Marcianitas” del hockey patín lo consiguieron sin ser un deporte profesionalizado en Chile. Más encima, lo lograron sin contar con grandes recursos para financiar su participación en el mundial. Tampoco para su preparación. Y mucho menos, para costear el equipamiento indispensable para la práctica de este deporte (un material oneroso que no está al alcance de cualquier persona, por lo demás). Aún así, pudieron vencer a representativos de países en los que el hockey patín sí es una actividad rentada y que cuenta con un apoyo masivo de hinchas y patrocinadores. Es por esto que la obtención del título mundial invita a pensar en un solo calificativo: gesta. Muchos de los adversarios aparecían como imbatibles para la selección chilena. Pero lo hicieron. Las “Marcianitas” vencieron en buena lid a sus oponentes en la cancha. También a sus oponentes fuera de ella. Y estos últimos sí que se veían como invencibles. Las dificultades finalmente quedaron atrás: ellas fueron, sin discusión, las mejores del mundo. Para efectos de esta investigación, se consideró la construcción de un marco de antecedentes que definiera los conceptos necesarios para sustentar y, al mismo tiempo, acotar el desarrollo. Redactarlo significó una ardua búsqueda de bibliografía referente al hockey patín (no sólo en Chile, dado que en el país lo publicado acerca de hockey es prácticamente inexistente), además de una recopilación de datos a través de internet y algunas entrevistas personalizadas a entendidos sobre la materia. Luego, junto con el planteamiento de objetivos generales y específicos, se trabajó con el establecimiento de hipótesis a comprobar luego del transcurso de la investigación. El desarrollo fue la parte medular del trabajo, dado que en éste se narran los acontecimientos y los perfiles personales que van configurando la historia de las “Marcianitas”. El principal sustento del desarrollo fueron las entrevistas, las que fueron personalizadas en el caso de todas las jugadoras del plantel que obtuvo el título mundial. Lo mismo ocurrió con el director técnico, el preparador físico y el presidente de la federación. No así con el asistente técnico y el presidente de la Confederación Sudamericana de Hockey Patín, quienes se encontraban en el extranjero al momento de la investigación y fueron contactados vía telefónica. El mismo procedimiento se realizó en algunos casos a integrantes marginados de la nómina, a familiares y personas relacionadas con el proceso, si bien se privilegiaba la entrevista personalizada. El correo electrónico también fue una buena herramienta de comunicación. Por último, se estipuló una conclusión acerca del trabajo efectuado, basándose en lo planteado previamente en las hipótesis. Si se pudiese definir mediante algún método, se privilegió el inductivo, dado que se establecieron reflexiones generales a partir de premisas específicas. Cabe señalar que esta investigación fue planificada desde diciembre del año 2006. Su concreción no estuvo exenta de dificultades, dada la difusa información que muchas veces hay referente al hockey patín. Los testimonios de muchas personas debieron ser contrapuestos para verificar la veracidad de algunos datos. Lo cierto es que se trata de una memoria para obtener el título de periodista, por lo que fue siempre el afán aplicar todo lo aprendido en años de universidad para plasmarlo de la mejor forma posible en esta investigación.

The aim of the study was to examine the muscle activities of fifteen male participants (23.44 ±2.63 years) during unilateral hockey bag load carrying of different weights (10%, 20%, and 30% bodyweight) and sizes (small and large). Walking without a hockey bag was the control condition. The results showed that increased peak and integrated EMG occurred with an increased load weight in the semitendinosus, gastrocnemius, rectus abdominis, and vastus medialis. The left rectus femoris and left semitendinosus were both significantly greater than the right corresponding muscle. Carrying the large hockey bag produced greater peak EMG in the right rectus abdominis and the right rectus femoris, whereas the right vastus medialis showed a larger peak EMG in the small hockey bag. It was concluded that the posterior-lateral carrying style of hockey bag load carriage explained the results being similar to both backpack and side pack load carriage studies.

Concussions occur at an unacceptable rate in the sport of ice hockey. Efforts are made to improve its prevention by modifying protective equipment and implementing rules of conduct; yet the effectiveness of these methods remains unknown as there is a lack of evidence pointing to a mechanical metric able to adequately predict concussion. The purpose of this thesis was to identify metrics which best characterize concussion following ice hockey collisions and provide values reflecting concussion risk. The first study reported effective mass of shoulder checks, extended elbow strikes, and tucked-in elbow strikes using 15 competitive ice hockey players as subjects. The results were used to guide the impact mass and compliance of laboratory reconstructions of real-world ice hockey collisions done in the second study. Analysis of these reconstruction showed that concussions following shoulder and elbow to head collisions in ice hockey occurred at low peak linear and angular accelerations and that impulse duration played a large role in the mechanism of injury. The results also indicated that concussion risk estimations are specific to the mechanism of loading. A 50% likelihood of concussion following a shoulder check to the head was established for peak angular accelerations of 9.2, 6.9, 4.6, and 2.2 krad/s^2 for impulse durations of 15, 20, 25, and 30 ms, respectively. A 50% likelihood of concussion following an extended elbow to the head was established for peak linear accelerations of 23, 15, and 7 g for impulse durations of 15, 20, and 25 ms, respectively. Finally, the third study reported brain tissue stress and strain comparable to the ones obtained reconstructing concussive impacts in American football, rugby, and Australian rules football despite having lower peak linear and angular acceleration values. This thesis has provided a new sport concussion data set acquired using a methodology guided by the biomechanics of ice hockey player volunteer testing, has identified metrics which can adequately predict concussion, and has established concussion risk levels. This information will be of use to helmet manufacturing companies, companies developing concussion detection sensors, and governing bodies in their efforts to eliminate concussion from the sport of ice hockey.

Since the introduction of helmets the incidence of traumatic brain injuries (TBI) in ice hockey has greatly decreased, but the incidence of concussions has essentially remained unchanged. Despite goaltenders in ice hockey being the only players on the ice for the entire game, few have assessed the performance of ice hockey goaltender masks. In ice hockey, goaltenders are exposed to impacts from collisions, falls and projectiles. The objective of this study was to assess the protective capacity of ice hockey goaltender masks for three accident events associated with concussion. A helmeted and unhelmeted medium NOCSAE headform were tested under conditions representing three common accident events in ice hockey. Falls were reconstructed using a monorail drop. A pneumatic linear impactor was used to reconstruct collisions and projectile impacts were reconstructed using a pneumatic puck launcher. Three impact locations and three velocities were selected for each accident event based on video analysis of real world concussive events. Peak resultant linear acceleration, peak resultant rotational acceleration and rotational velocity of the headform were measured. The University College Dublin Brain Trauma Model (UCDBTM) was used to calculate maximum principal strain (MPS) and von Mises stress in the cerebrum. The results demonstrated the importance of assessing the protective capacity of ice hockey goaltenders masks for each accident, as each event created a unique response. A comparison of unhelmeted and helmeted impacts revealed ice hockey goaltender masks are effective at reducing the risk of both concussion and TBI for falls and projectiles, but less so for collisions. Further, the risk of more serious injuries was found to increase for falls and collisions as impact velocity increased. The results highlight the importance of impacting multiple locations when assessing the protective capacity of ice hockey goaltenders masks, as different impact locations result in unique responses. Overall this study demonstrated ice hockey goaltenders masks capacity to reduce the risk of concussion across three accident events.

Utilisant le protocole de l’étude de cas, l’objectif de cette thèse de maîtrise était d’explorer les relations entre la consommation d'alcool et la pratique du hockey sur glace au niveau junior. Le cas à l’étude était une équipe canadienne de hockey sur glace junior et le chercheur a suivi l’équipe pendant une saison complète. Des entrevues semi-structurées ont été réalisées à trois différents moments (début, milieu et fin de la saison) avec cinq participants (deux entraîneurs et trois joueurs). Des observations ont aussi été recueillies tout au long de la saison (camp d’entraînement, parties de saison régulière, tournoi extérieur, séries éliminatoires et tournoi local) alors que le chercheur avait un accès complet à l’environnement de l’équipe. Les résultats ont démontré que la socialisation à l’alcool commençait à un très jeune âge dans le contexte du hockey et que l’environnement physique (e.g., vente d’alcool à l’aréna) facilitait la consommation d’alcool. Les résultats ont aussi révélé l’existence de deux types de consommation, soit la consommation planifiée (e.g., tournois extérieurs, campagnes de financement) et la consommation non-planifiée (e.g., après une victoire importante) durant lesquels les rituels de consommation se manifestaient. Finalement, les résultats ont exposé comment des contradictions s’exerçaient entre le respect et la moquerie en ce qui a trait au choix de ne pas consommer d’alcool chez certains membres de l’équipe.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of a 16 week training programme on selected on-ice and laboratory variables of 9-10 year-old boys involved in a competitive ice hockey programme. Twenty-four players from two A-level representative teams were selected as subjects for this study. Players from one team served as the training group while players from the second team served as the age-matched control group. On-ice measures were calculated from a Repeat Sprint Skate (RSS) whereby subjects performed 4 repetitions of 91.45 metres, commencing each repetition every 35 seconds. Laboratory measures included a Wingate Anaerobic Test (WAnT) which was extended to 40 seconds, an Anaerobic Speed Test (AST), and strength and power measurements (30, 100, 180 deg*sec⁻¹) of the quadriceps and hamstring muscle groups. Results from this study indicate that the training group showed significant (p = .05) improvement over the control group in the following variables: (1) the AST; (2) RQ (30 deg*sec⁻¹); (3) RH (30 deg*sec⁻¹); (4) RH (100 deg*sec⁻¹) ; (5) LH (30 deg*sec⁻¹). Findings from this study indicate that intense anaerobic training will benefit prepubertal ice hockey players on selected anaerobic and strength measures. / Education, Faculty of / Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of / Graduate

Submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Chiropractic, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa, 2016. / Background In sport, competitive athletes are required to perform to the best of their ability, with some athletes seeking the use of chiropractic treatment to improve performance. For example, hockey players are required to perform at peak physical function whilst executing a drag flick. The action of a drag flick involves a player hunched over low down in front of the ball and the hook of the hockey stick makes contact with the ball, which is then ball is pushed along the ground with the ball moving slightly up the shaft of the stick. The player then performs ‘slinging’ action, which means they ‘flick’ the ball towards the goal posts. The drag flick is an explosive sequential movement involving the player’s pelvis, trunk and upper limbs, requiring the use of the spine to generate the speed of the stick and ball. As a result any decreased spinal movement could reduce performance. Therefore this study attempted to assess the use of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) in improving the drag flicking performance of hockey players. SMT has been shown to be a safe and effective way of increasing spinal joint mobility Objectives To determine and compare the effect of placebo and spinal manipulative therapy in terms of subjective and objective measurements on drag flicking performance of premier league field hockey players. Methods A comparative, experimental study of forty asymptomatic premier league hockey drag flickers were divided into two groups of twenty each. Group A received SMT of fixated joints of the spine (cervical, thoracic and lumbar) as determined by motion palpation by an experienced qualified chiropractor. Group B received sham manipulation. Pre and post intervention ROM of the spine and drag flicking speed where measured using CROM, Inclinometer, BROM II and Speed TracX Speed Sport Radar. The subject’s perception of a change in drag flicking speed post intervention was also recorded. SPSS version 21 was used to analyse the data. A p value of 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results Significant differences in ROM were noticed in the inter-group analysis in cervical: extension; LLF; RR PA, thoracic: extension; LLF, RLF, lumbar: extension, LLF, RLF. There was a significant increase in drag flicking speed post SMT, but between the SMT and sham manipulation groups were not significantly different. A significant correlation was seen between subjects’ perception of change in drag flicking speed post intervention and the objective results obtained. Conclusion The immediate effect of SMT on drag flicking performance of hockey players was inconclusive. The outcomes of this study suggests that SMT results in an increase in the average speed of drag flicking, however further larger studies are required to confirm this. / M

Dans le domaine du sport de haut niveau, les athlètes sont parfois confrontés à des contextes d’adversité où de nombreux obstacles sont présents sur leur parcours. Plusieurs individus cèdent et abandonnent face à des situations d’adversité, tandis que d’autres réussissent à les surmonter. Alors que certains athlètes sont incapables de réagir de façon adéquate au stress, d’autres font preuve de résilience et trouvent ainsi la capacité de surmonter un tel contexte. L’objectif de l’étude vise à identifier les facteurs psychologiques de la résilience auxquels les joueurs de hockey de niveau universitaire ont eu recours pour surmonter les contextes d’adversité et persévérer afin de terminer leurs années d’éligibilité. Les résultats ont permis de mettre en lumière les 5 facteurs psychologiques de la résilience auxquels ont eu recours les participants de l’étude préalablement identifiés par Fletcher et Sarkar (2012), soit la concentration, la confiance, la motivation, la perception d’un support social, et la personnalité positive. Cette étude a également fait émerger trois nouveaux facteurs non présents dans le modèle de Fletcher et Sarkar (2012), soit le sentiment d’appartenance, la capacité à lâcher-prise, et la préservation de l’identité sociale. À partir d’entrevues auprès de 12 joueurs de hockey universitaires, l’étude fait état de la manifestation de ces 8 caractéristiques psychologiques de la résilience au sein de leur contexte d’adversité afin de les surmonter.