Whether you are a
hockey fan or a hockey player you know all too well the risk of hockey eye
injuries. Hockey is especially popular among middle school, high school and college
athletes where the result of an eye injury can be catastrophic and life
changing. Eye injury is a series risk among hockey players and it requires that
parents and players take some precautions.
Research on Hockey Eye Injury Prevention
Research presented at Annual Meeting of the American Academy of
Ophthalmology was very meaningful. The researchers found that wearing visors
could cause a four-fold decrease in the risk of eye injuries. The researchers, based at the University of Toronto and
Harvard Medical School, examined data from The Sports Network (TSN) and The
Hockey News annual visor survey over the last 10 seasons from 2002 to 2013 in
the NHL. The data clearly demonstrated
that the risk of eye injury is 4.23 times higher for players who do not wear a
visor.
Causes of Hockey
Eye Injuries
The study also found that the majority of eye injuries are
caused by being hit by the puck (37%) or struck by a high stick (28%) or by a
fight or scrum (18%), while the researchers could not identify the cause of
injury for 17%. Players without visors
had a more aggressive style of play, measured by penalty minutes, hits and
fights in a case-control study. There was also a weak, but positive
correlation between eye injuries and penalty minutes.
Going Forward to
Prevent Hockey Eye Injury
As hockey players develop, grow and get stronger their
games and playing style become faster and more intense, and the risks continue
to increase-thus it is important to maximize protection. Since the majority of
hockey injuries are accidental in nature, it is not good enough for players to
try to be more cautious. This study
pretty firmly supports the common sense notion that wearing visors goes a long
way to decreasing injuries among hockey players.
If you or
someone you know plays hockey please share this information with them to help
them decrease their risk of hockey eye injury, or please feel free to call The
Eye Care & Surgery Center at 908-789-8999, visit The Eye Care & Surgery Center or
facebook.com/eyecareandsurgerycenter to schedule an appointment.
The Eye
Care & Surgery Center is located at 592 Springfield Avenue,
Westfield, New Jersey 07090, 10 Mountain Boulevard, Warren, New Jersey 07059
and 517 Route One South, Suite 1100, Iselin, New Jersey 08830, and is conveniently located for patients from throughout
central and northern New Jersey.
