This study examines injury in competitive bodychecking and non-body checking youth ice hockey in male and female leagues in Ontario and Quebec. This study consisted of three parts: (1) quantifying the amount of injuries; (2) document situational factors in which hockey injuries occur; (3) observe play and interview parents to understand deeper subjective feelings towards injury and bodychecking. The research utilized a mixed method approach consisting of game observation, postgame injury assessments and semi-structured interviewing with parents. For this thesis, 56 games total were attended and only parents from the bodychecking team were interviewed. All games were video recorded through a dual camera video system. Game footage was then analyzed frame by frame to pinpoint injury locations, points of impact and situational factors surrounding the injury. Field-notes and interviews with parents allowed for a comprehensive look into the feelings and emotions surrounding injury and bodychecking. Results from the research revealed; 1) a disproportionately higher rate of injury in bodychecking hockey comparared to non-bodychecking male and female hockey; 2) an overwhelming percentage of injuries were the result of player and board contact; 3) majority of injuries occurred on legal play; and 4) parents support the concept of delaying bodychecking till later ages.

This study examines injury in competitive bodychecking and non-body checking youth ice hockey in male and female leagues in Ontario and Quebec. This study consisted of three parts: (1) quantifying the amount of injuries; (2) document situational factors in which hockey injuries occur; (3) observe play and interview parents to understand deeper subjective feelings towards injury and bodychecking. The research utilized a mixed method approach consisting of game observation, postgame injury assessments and semi-structured interviewing with parents. For this thesis, 56 games total were attended and only parents from the bodychecking team were interviewed. All games were video recorded through a dual camera video system. Game footage was then analyzed frame by frame to pinpoint injury locations, points of impact and situational factors surrounding the injury. Field-notes and interviews with parents allowed for a comprehensive look into the feelings and emotions surrounding injury and bodychecking. Results from the research revealed; 1) a disproportionately higher rate of injury in bodychecking hockey comparared to non-bodychecking male and female hockey; 2) an overwhelming percentage of injuries were the result of player and board contact; 3) majority of injuries occurred on legal play; and 4) parents support the concept of delaying bodychecking till later ages.

This study examines injury in competitive bodychecking and non-body checking youth ice hockey in male and female leagues in Ontario and Quebec. This study consisted of three parts: (1) quantifying the amount of injuries; (2) document situational factors in which hockey injuries occur; (3) observe play and interview parents to understand deeper subjective feelings towards injury and bodychecking. The research utilized a mixed method approach consisting of game observation, postgame injury assessments and semi-structured interviewing with parents. For this thesis, 56 games total were attended and only parents from the bodychecking team were interviewed. All games were video recorded through a dual camera video system. Game footage was then analyzed frame by frame to pinpoint injury locations, points of impact and situational factors surrounding the injury. Field-notes and interviews with parents allowed for a comprehensive look into the feelings and emotions surrounding injury and bodychecking. Results from the research revealed; 1) a disproportionately higher rate of injury in bodychecking hockey comparared to non-bodychecking male and female hockey; 2) an overwhelming percentage of injuries were the result of player and board contact; 3) majority of injuries occurred on legal play; and 4) parents support the concept of delaying bodychecking till later ages.

This study examines injury in competitive bodychecking and non-body checking youth ice hockey in male and female leagues in Ontario and Quebec. This study consisted of three parts: (1) quantifying the amount of injuries; (2) document situational factors in which hockey injuries occur; (3) observe play and interview parents to understand deeper subjective feelings towards injury and bodychecking. The research utilized a mixed method approach consisting of game observation, postgame injury assessments and semi-structured interviewing with parents. For this thesis, 56 games total were attended and only parents from the bodychecking team were interviewed. All games were video recorded through a dual camera video system. Game footage was then analyzed frame by frame to pinpoint injury locations, points of impact and situational factors surrounding the injury. Field-notes and interviews with parents allowed for a comprehensive look into the feelings and emotions surrounding injury and bodychecking. Results from the research revealed; 1) a disproportionately higher rate of injury in bodychecking hockey comparared to non-bodychecking male and female hockey; 2) an overwhelming percentage of injuries were the result of player and board contact; 3) majority of injuries occurred on legal play; and 4) parents support the concept of delaying bodychecking till later ages.

Concerns about safety in youth hockey have been openly expressed in public and in academic circles. Sports injury literature continue to report that the prevalence of injury in hockey remains high at both the grassroots and elite levels. Much of this injury reporting, however, utilize injury reporting methods that provide very little about how and why these injuries are occurring. The comprehensive prospective observational approach utilized in this thesis proved most effective in understanding not only injury events and head contact events, but how and why they are taking place throughout the course of a hockey game. Knowing the contextual factors surrounding such events are important in building injury prevention strategies and to minimize all types of head contact. As evidenced in this research, the type of head contact being experienced differs according to age level, which means measures to reduce head contact must be targeted at specific age levels. With this said, given the amount of head contact that was documented throughout all levels of hockey, it does warrant further monitoring of the sport to ascertain the extent to which head trauma is impacting player brain development and to strive further in eliminating head contact altogether.

Ice hockey is a sport known for its speed and skill. However, its intensely physical nature is associated with the potential risk of injury, which has become a major public controversy in Canada (Cusimano, Sharma, Lawrence, et al., 2013; Emery et al., 2010). Epidemiological research has adequately documented the frequency and severity of injury (King & LeBlanc, 2006; Yard & Comstock, 2006). Yet, because of methodological limitations and the lack of systematic and mandatory injury prevention strategies implemented nationwide, injuries remain high (Cusimano, Nastis, & Zuccaro, 2013; Emery et al, 2010). An alternative methodology, combined with broadening injury definitions can provide a more detailed assessment of the risks of, and circumstances, around injury. A methodology, based primarily on observational techniques, was utilized to examine injury in body checking hockey when it is first introduced to youth players. Injury was defined as ‘any physical trauma that has occurred as a result of participation in an organized competition’ including four categories of injury severity. In a comparison of Ontario Peewee (ages 11-12) with Québec Bantam (ages 13-14) boys hockey, no significant differences were found in overall injury (χ2: 0.22; p:0.64), however, there were significant differences in frequency of body checking related injury; 76% versus 59% (χ2:4.76; p:0.03). The odds of being injured due to body checking are 2.158 times higher in Peewee (βex 2.158; 95%CI: 1.07-4.34; p:0.03) indicating no increased risk of injury when body checking is introduced later while delaying introduction reduces the frequency of body checking related injury. Ongoing public debate in Canada concerning safety in youth hockey is understood through the theoretical lens of discourse (Foucault, 1972, 1990). The dominant discourse in Canada around hockey is based in a traditional, physically dominant model, where intense physical contact is not only inevitable but desirable. The reverse discourse prioritizes the safety of participants over the potential of lessening the intense physicality of the Canadian style of play. These competing discourses create tension and ambivalence amongst safety advocates and conservative hockey practitioners and enthusiasts. The emotionality of hockey stakeholders often overwhelms logic regarding safety decisions, ultimately impacting progressive injury prevention initiatives.

Ice hockey is a sport known for its speed and skill. However, its intensely physical nature is associated with the potential risk of injury, which has become a major public controversy in Canada (Cusimano, Sharma, Lawrence, et al., 2013; Emery et al., 2010). Epidemiological research has adequately documented the frequency and severity of injury (King & LeBlanc, 2006; Yard & Comstock, 2006). Yet, because of methodological limitations and the lack of systematic and mandatory injury prevention strategies implemented nationwide, injuries remain high (Cusimano, Nastis, & Zuccaro, 2013; Emery et al, 2010). An alternative methodology, combined with broadening injury definitions can provide a more detailed assessment of the risks of, and circumstances, around injury. A methodology, based primarily on observational techniques, was utilized to examine injury in body checking hockey when it is first introduced to youth players. Injury was defined as ‘any physical trauma that has occurred as a result of participation in an organized competition’ including four categories of injury severity. In a comparison of Ontario Peewee (ages 11-12) with Québec Bantam (ages 13-14) boys hockey, no significant differences were found in overall injury (χ2: 0.22; p:0.64), however, there were significant differences in frequency of body checking related injury; 76% versus 59% (χ2:4.76; p:0.03). The odds of being injured due to body checking are 2.158 times higher in Peewee (βex 2.158; 95%CI: 1.07-4.34; p:0.03) indicating no increased risk of injury when body checking is introduced later while delaying introduction reduces the frequency of body checking related injury. Ongoing public debate in Canada concerning safety in youth hockey is understood through the theoretical lens of discourse (Foucault, 1972, 1990). The dominant discourse in Canada around hockey is based in a traditional, physically dominant model, where intense physical contact is not only inevitable but desirable. The reverse discourse prioritizes the safety of participants over the potential of lessening the intense physicality of the Canadian style of play. These competing discourses create tension and ambivalence amongst safety advocates and conservative hockey practitioners and enthusiasts. The emotionality of hockey stakeholders often overwhelms logic regarding safety decisions, ultimately impacting progressive injury prevention initiatives.

Work-related injuries are a persistent problem in the manufacturing industry. This research focuses on factors involved in the incidence, severity, and effective treatment of work-related injuries in a population of manufacturing workers. Data from a large Midwestern manufacturing facility were obtained with the aims of measuring the association between shift work and injury incidence, measuring the impact of injury reporting lag on injury severity, describing an intervention designed to provide expedited treatment to injured workers, and describing worker and injury characteristics associated with treatment success. Using injury and employment data from the Midwestern manufacturing facility for the years 2011 and 2012, we found that workers on second shift had a marginally significant increase in injury incidence compared to first shift workers. No differences were observed between third shift and first shift workers. Gender and job tenure were also found to be associated with increased injury rates. Job tenure was, in fact, a more significant predictor of injury than age. Using injury data from the years 2011 and 2012, we found that delayed injury reporting had a significant impact on injury severity. As the lag time increased between the date of injury and the injury report date, so too did the odds that the injury would lead to restricted work days. We did not, however, find the same association between reporting lag and lost work days. Injury type was a significant predictor of both restricted and lost days. Job tenure and body part injured were also predictors of lost days. Finally, we collected data from the years 2007-2009 on injured workers treated for musculoskeletal disorders through an intervention designed to reduce treatment lag time. The intervention, delivered by occupational health nurses and physical therapists, provided injured workers with a physical therapy visit within three days of reporting an injury. The intervention was designed to circumvent two barriers to timely care, the delay between the injury report date and the first occupational health physician visit, and the delay between the first physician visit and the first physical therapy visit. The most significant predictor of program discharge success was patient age. Older workers tended to have lower odds of being discharged to their baseline work duties compared to young workers. Overall, nearly two-thirds of the injured workers referred to the program were successfully discharged, regardless of gender, body part injured, cause of injury, or nature of injury. This project addresses the important issue of injuries in the manufacturing industry. We provide evidence on the factors associated with injury incidence and injury severity among workers in a large Midwestern manufacturing facility. We also show that workplace injury treatment interventions directed by occupational health nurses and physical therapists can be very effective in returning injured workers to their regular job duties. Our evidence suggests that future research and injury prevention efforts should focus on shift workers, low tenured workers, reducing delayed injury reporting, and reducing delayed injury treatment.

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