Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums

User menu

  • My alerts

Search

  • Advanced search
The College of Family Physicians of Canada
  • Other Publications
    • http://www.cfpc.ca/Canadianfamilyphysician/
    • https://www.cfpc.ca/Login/
    • Careers and Locums
  • My alerts
The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Advanced Search

  • Home
  • Articles
    • Current
    • Published Ahead of Print
    • Archive
    • Supplemental Issues
    • Collections - French
    • Collections - English
  • Info for
    • Authors & Reviewers
    • Submit a Manuscript
    • Advertisers
    • Careers & Locums
    • Subscribers
    • Permissions
  • About CFP
    • About CFP
    • About the CFPC
    • Editorial Advisory Board
    • Terms of Use
    • Contact Us
  • Feedback
    • Feedback
    • Rapid Responses
    • Most Read
    • Most Cited
    • Email Alerts
  • Blogs
    • Latest Blogs
    • Blog Guidelines
    • Directives pour les blogues
  • Mainpro+ Credits
    • About Mainpro+
    • Member Login
    • Instructions
  • RSS feeds
  • Follow cfp Template on Twitter
OtherCollege

Incorporating concussion education into hockey programs

Concussion resources: Healthy Hockey Heads study

Lisa Kibria and Anne Fanning
Canadian Family Physician August 2016, 62 (8) 683-684;
Lisa Kibria
Family medicine resident at the University of Alberta in Edmonton.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Anne Fanning
Professor Emeritus at the University of Alberta and a global health and tuberculosis educator and consultant.
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Article
  • Figures & Data
  • CFPlus
  • eLetters
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Concussions are an important topic in youth sports. For example, concussions account for approximately 15% of injuries in hockey players aged 9 to 16 years, with most resulting from aggressive behaviour such as bodychecking.1,2 Concussion must be seen beyond the initial hit: the potential cognitive and mood changes that can result from concussions cause considerable morbidity.3 It is imperative to protect the health and well-being of young athletes while maintaining the competitive nature and sportsmanship of hockey.

Rule changes in leagues that ban bodychecking result in 3-fold lower injury rates, which include fewer concussions.1,2 While Hockey Canada responded to these data by raising the age at which bodychecking is allowed to 13 years, additional risk factors for concussion include the age and size of the player, the position played, the level of competitiveness, and the player’s history of previous injuries, concussions, migraines, and learning and attention deficit disorders.3–6

A growing body of research describes the importance of education programs for reducing aggressive player behaviour and injury rates.1 While the best method to decrease injury rates has yet to be determined, we believe the most effective programs incorporate safety thinking into routine hockey thought processes. This includes assessment of injury risks, injury reporting and documentation, and incorporation of return-to-play guidelines in order to avoid the long-term consequences of brain injury. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s HEADS UP program, the Hockey Canada Safety program, Parachute Canada, and the Canadian Paediatric Society resources help address these topics.

Healthy hockey heads

Until hitting is banned or reduced, it is essential that safety education be incorporated into minor hockey programs for coaches, parents, and especially players in order to minimize the incidence of concussions. Therefore, we created a concussion education program as a part of the undergraduate medical Health Advocacy and Leadership program at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, entitled Healthy Hockey Heads (3H), for ages 11 to 12 (peewee level, the age group before bodychecking is allowed). The program focused on prevention, recognition, and management of concussions in an effort to foster awareness of these injuries and ways to avoid sequellae.

Our study was approved by the ethics board at the University of Alberta. We divided peewee-level hockey players into control and intervention groups. The intervention study group was provided with an educational package for parents, coaches, and players (n = 67). The 3H education package consisted of a manual that covered various topics such as brain anatomy, signs and symptoms of concussion, and management and prevention of injuries; a Sport Concussion Assessment Tool, version 2, card; and a stop sign decal to place on the player’s helmet. Participants also viewed a short video by Canadian physician Mike Evans called “Concussions 101.”7

Even with a small sample size and challenges reporting player injuries, the debriefing sessions presented valuable information. Most of the study groups described the need to implement education programs but difficulties with prioritizing safety education courses for coaches, parents, and players in busy hockey team schedules. They also indicated that they liked the comprehensive manual and the video.

The players are ready to tackle the issue, and the 3H package can be a tool for concussion education. It contains an easy-to-read manual, available from CFPlus* with a good foundation of knowledge geared toward hockey players younger than 15 years of age that can be used in conjunction with other resources.

Advocating for our young patients

As a family medicine resident and a former physical therapist who worked with young athletes, L.K. learned the importance of advocating for our patients. Primary care physicians can play a key role in the prevention of concussions.8,9 It is not enough to have numerous concussion resources that participants can voluntarily access if they desire. Structured concussion education should be a critical part of hockey programs across Canada. The damaging effects of concussions are preventable and a concerted effort is needed to educate our young hockey athletes.

Footnotes

  • La traduction en français de cet article se trouve à www.cfp.ca dans la table des matières du numéro d’août 2016 à la page e499.

  • ↵* The Healthy Hockey Heads manual is available at www.cfp.ca. Go to the full text of this article and click on CFPlus in the menu at the top right-hand side of the page.

  • Competing interests

    None declared

  • Copyright© the College of Family Physicians of Canada

References

  1. 1.↵
    1. Cusimano MD,
    2. Nastis S,
    3. Zuccaro L
    . Effectiveness of interventions to reduce aggression and injuries among ice hockey players: a systematic review. CMAJ 2013;185(1):57-69.
    OpenUrl
  2. 2.↵
    1. Emery CA,
    2. Kang J,
    3. Shrier I,
    4. Goulet C,
    5. Hagel B,
    6. Benson BW,
    7. et al
    . Risk of injury associated with body checking among youth ice hockey players. JAMA 2010;303(22):2265-72.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  3. 3.↵
    1. Harmon KG,
    2. Jonathan AD,
    3. Gammons M,
    4. Guskiewicz KM,
    5. Halstead M,
    6. Herring SA,
    7. et al
    . American Medical Society for Sports Medicine position statement: concussion in sport. Br J Sports Med 2013;47:15-26.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
  4. 4.
    1. McCrory P,
    2. Meeuwise W,
    3. Johnson K,
    4. Dvorak J,
    5. Aubry M,
    6. Molly M,
    7. et al
    . Consensus statement on concussion in sport: the 3rd International Conference on Concussion in Sport held in Zurich, November 2008. J Clin Neurosc 2009;16:755-63.
    OpenUrl
  5. 5.
    1. Reddy CC,
    2. Collins MW,
    3. Gioia GA
    . Adolescent sports concussion. Phys Med Rehabil Clin N Am 2008;19(2):247-69.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  6. 6.↵
    1. Sarmiento K,
    2. Hoffman R,
    3. Dmitrovsky Z,
    4. Lee R
    . A 10-year review of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Heads Up initiatives: bringing concussion awareness to the forefront. J Safety Res 2014;50:143-7.
    OpenUrlCrossRefPubMed
  7. 7.↵
    1. Evans M
    . Concussions 101. A primer for kids and parents [video]. Toronto, ON: Michael Evans, Mercury Films Inc; 2011. Available from: www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCCD52Pty4A. Accessed 2016 Jul 5.
  8. 8.↵
    1. Purcell LK,
    2. Canadian Paediatric Society
    . Sport-related concussion: evaluation and management. Ottawa, ON: Canadian Paediatric Society; 2014. Available from: www.cps.ca/documents/position/sport-related-concussion-evaluation-management. Accessed 2015 Mar 21.
  9. 9.↵
    1. Tator HC
    . Concussions and their consequences: current diagnosis, management and prevention. CMAJ 2013;185(11):975-9.
    OpenUrlFREE Full Text
PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Canadian Family Physician: 62 (8)
Canadian Family Physician
Vol. 62, Issue 8
1 Aug 2016
  • Table of Contents
  • About the Cover
  • Index by author
Print
Download PDF
Article Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Email Article

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word on The College of Family Physicians of Canada.

NOTE: We only request your email address so that the person you are recommending the page to knows that you wanted them to see it, and that it is not junk mail. We do not capture any email address.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Incorporating concussion education into hockey programs
(Your Name) has sent you a message from The College of Family Physicians of Canada
(Your Name) thought you would like to see the The College of Family Physicians of Canada web site.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Citation Tools
Incorporating concussion education into hockey programs
Lisa Kibria, Anne Fanning
Canadian Family Physician Aug 2016, 62 (8) 683-684;

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Respond to this article
Share
Incorporating concussion education into hockey programs
Lisa Kibria, Anne Fanning
Canadian Family Physician Aug 2016, 62 (8) 683-684;
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Jump to section

  • Article
    • Healthy hockey heads
    • Advocating for our young patients
    • Footnotes
    • References
  • Figures & Data
  • CFPlus
  • Info & Metrics
  • eLetters
  • PDF

Related Articles

  • Intégrer l’éducation sur les commotions dans les programmes de hockey
  • PubMed
  • Google Scholar

Cited By...

  • No citing articles found.
  • Google Scholar

More in this TOC Section

College

  • Scope of work and the future of family practice
  • Portée de la pratique et l’avenir de la médecine de famille
  • Building a family medicine movement
Show more College

Residents’ Views

  • Relieving suffering
  • Effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on residents’ training experiences
  • From geographic to social isolation
Show more Residents’ Views

Similar Articles

Navigate

  • Home
  • Current Issue
  • Archive
  • Collections - English
  • Collections - Française

For Authors

  • Authors and Reviewers
  • Submit a Manuscript
  • Permissions
  • Terms of Use

General Information

  • About CFP
  • About the CFPC
  • Advertisers
  • Careers & Locums
  • Editorial Advisory Board
  • Subscribers

Journal Services

  • Email Alerts
  • Twitter
  • RSS Feeds

Copyright © 2022 by The College of Family Physicians of Canada

Powered by HighWire