"Football, hockey and soccer are three of the most popular contact sports in North America," says Dr. Scott Delaney--Research Director of the Department of Emergency Medicine at the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) in Montreal and lead author of the study. "Each sport has been recognized as a high risk activity for head injuries, but very little research has been conducted on the risk of neck injuries for recreational athletes competing in these sports."
Researchers combined hospital emergency department data with sport participation figures from across the US during the 1990s, to determine the relative risk of neck injury for football, hockey and soccer. The study included all types of neck injuries, ranging from serious fractures and dislocations and lacerations to concussions, strains and sprains. Overall, researchers discovered those playing football suffered significantly more neck injuries, than those playing hockey or soccer.
Sport Overall neck injuries
Football 5.85
Hockey 2.8
Soccer 1.67
(expressed as number of neck injuries for every 10,000 participants)
"Although high energy impacts occur in all three sports, only football tackles are designed to completely impede the motion of opposing players," notes Dr. Delaney, who is a physician for the Montreal Alouettes, Montreal Impact and Cirque du Soleil.
Overall, serious injuries that result in par
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Contact: Ian Popple
ian.popple@muhc.mcgill.ca
514-843-1560
McGill University
20-Apr-2005