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Study: 1 in 5 young elite hockey players experienced hip pain
Nearly 20% of young elite ice hockey players who began playing during childhood presented with hip pain and had positive impingement test results, according to recent study data.
Klaus A. Siebenrock, MD, of the Department of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Bern, Inselspital, Bern, Switzerland, and colleagues evaluated 77 elite-level male ice hockey players (mean age, 16.5 years) in Switzerland. To determine whether the hip was symptomatic and its internal rotation, questionnaires were completed and clinical examinations were conducted. Physeal status of open or closed and alpha angle of the cranial half of the proximal femur were determined by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) using a standard clockface system.
Klaus A. Siebenrock
Fifteen (19.5%) of the athletes reported hip pain history and a positive impingement test result. Players with closed physes had greater alpha angles compared with athletes exhibiting open physes (58° vs. 49°; P<.001).
“Symptomatic athletes had larger alpha angles compared with asymptomatic athletes at the 12-o’clock (52° vs. 46°; P=.022), 1-o’clock (62° vs. 52°; P<.001), and 2-o’clock (59° vs. 50°; P<.001) positions,” the researchers reported.
Researchers observed significantly decreased internal rotation (17°) among symptomatic players compared with asymptomatic players (23°). Decreased internal rotation was significantly associated with greater alpha angles in the anterosuperior quadrant.
“The data suggest that playing ice hockey at an elite level during childhood is associated with an increased risk for cam-type deformity and hip pain after physeal closure,” the researchers concluded.
Disclosure: Researcher Joseph M. Schwab received fellowship funding from the Maurice E Müller Foundation of North America.