Body checks not the main culprit.

• Position: Hockey Injuries

Hockey fans likely would assume that body checking--which often entails slamming an opponent against the boards--causes the most injuries in youth ice hockey, but they would be wrong. Findings from a University at Buffalo (N.Y. five-year study show that 66% of overall injuries are caused by accidentally hitting the boards or goal posts, colliding with teammates, or being hit by a puck. Only 34% are induced by checking. Moreover, the accidental injuries are more severe than those from body checks.

"There is an image of body checking as a form of violence that is condoned by the game of hockey," says Barry Willer, professor of psychiatry and rehabilitation sciences and senior author of the study. "However, this study found that body checking did not account for a large proportion of injuries."

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The researchers compared injury rates overall for three levels of competition: "house leagues," where there is no body checking; "select," in which checking is allowed at age 11 and older; and "representative," for the most skilled players, which allows checking in all divisions at age nine and above. They also examined injury rates as level of competition and players' age increase, and how injury rates varied in games versus practices. Only injuries that kept a player off the ice for at least 24 hours were included.

Their analysis of the data shows that there...