THE EFFECT OF A BODY CHECKING RULE CHANGE ON HEAD IMPACT BIOMECHANICS IN BANTAM ICE HOCKEY ATHLETES

BACKGROUND: Body checking is the most common injury mechanism in ice hockey. Rule changes have sought to mitigate body checking exposure among youth players. In 2011, USA Hockey changed the legal body checking age from Pee Wee (11/12-year-olds) to Bantam (13/14-year-olds). Interestingly, Bantam players with checking experience during Pee Wee had a lower concussion risk relative to Bantam players without checking experience in a sample of Canadian youth hockey players. Understanding the head impact biomechanics underlying these findings could further elucidate the consequences of this rule change. PURPOSE: To determine the association between Pee Wee checking exposure and head impact biomechanics in a cohort of Bantam players. METHODS: We prospectively collected data on Bantam ice hockey players during the 2006/07-2009/10 seasons and the 2012-2013 season. The 2006/07-2009/10 cohort (n= 61, age=13.9±0.5 years, height=168.2±8.7 cm, mass=59.9±10.4 kg) was allowed to body check (BC) as a Pee Wee player. The 2012-2013 cohort (n=15, age=13.3±0.4 years, height=167.5±7.4 cm, mass=57.5±8.6 kg) was not permitted to body check (NBC) as a Pee Wee player. Over the course of each season, head impacts were measured using in-helmet accelerometers. Only head impacts with linear acceleration ≥10 g were included in our analysis. Main outcome measures were mean linear acceleration (g) and rotational acceleration (rad/s(2)). Levene’s tests assessed equality of variance between groups. We employed mixed effects models to assess group differences in mean linear and rotational acceleration between BC and NBC groups. RESULTS: The BC and NBC groups did not differ in height (t(74)=0.28, p=0.78) or mass (t(74)=0.84, p=0.40). When assessing group differences in head impact biomechanics, the NBC experienced significantly greater linear acceleration (F(1,74)=4.36, p=0.04) and greater rotational acceleration (F(1,74)=21.2, p<0.001) relative to the BC group. On average, the NBC group experienced 23.1 ± 0.87 g linear acceleration and 1993.5 ± 68.4 rad/s(2) rotational acceleration compared to the BC group, which experienced 21.2 ± 0.30 g linear acceleration and 1615.9 ± 45.2 rad/s(2) rotational acceleration. CONCLUSIONS: Bantam ice hockey players without body checking experience during their Pee Wee years experienced greater average linear and rotational acceleration relative to players with Pee Wee body checking experience. While removing body checking from Pee Wee ice hockey may reduce short-term injury risk, these athletes may demonstrate more high-risk head impact biomechanics when legally allowed to body check. Future research should continue to examine the influence of policy changes on head impact biomechanics and injury risk in youth ice hockey.