7-year study claims concussions on the rise for NHL players
Posted Apr 18, 2011 05:44:52 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A new study evaluating on-ice injuries in the NHL suggests players suffer a startling number of concussions each year.
Between 1997 to 2004, 559 concussions have been recorded over seven seasons in the NHL, which is about an average of eighty on-ice head injuries a year.
Dr. Brian Benson from the University of Calgary told 680News that those who stayed in the game while displaying symptoms of brain injuries took over ten days to recover.
“We found some interesting trends and one being a gradual increase in post-concussion time loss over the seven years of study.”
“That may be due to concussions being more severe or physicians being more conservative in their decisions,” said Dr. Benson
Dr. Benson also looked at risk factors when it comes to certain hockey positions. He told 680News, “centre men appeared to be more at risk to concussions then wingers or defence men.”
This study was published April 18 in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.
“I think there is still a tremendous amount of work that we need to do to work on preventing them, before they occur at all levels of play. That is going to require significant leadership right from the NHL,” said Dr. Benson.
