Dec. 3, 2012 Instituting and enforcing rules that limit
aggressive acts like bodychecking in ice hockey should help
reduce injuries for young players, including serious brain and
spine injuries, according to a new study published in CMAJ
(Canadian Medical Association Journal). "We found that
interventions based on rule changes showed the greatest
likelihood of making ice hockey safer for youth," writes Dr.
Michael Cusimano, Division of Neurosurgery and the Injury
Prevention Research Office, St. Michael's Hospital and the
University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, with coauthors. Brain
and spinal cord injuries among hockey players have been
increasing over the past 15 years and are often the result of
aggressive bodychecking. In players aged 9-16 years, brain
injuries account for 15% of all injuries. "Hostile aggressive
acts…were the primary cause of injury in one-third of games in
which an injury resulted. Among high school students in
Minnesota who played varsity ice hockey, those who played to
relieve aggress