Intra-articular Hip Injuries in National Hockey League Players A Descriptive Epidemiological Study

Background:Intra-articular hip injuries are thought to be common in professional ice hockey; however, injury incidence and missed playing time have not been previously documented. Furthermore, it is not known if injury incidence differs between player positions.Hypothesis:The incidence of symptomatic intra-articular hip injuries in goaltenders is higher than that of other position players.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:A database containing the injury surveillance of National Hockey League (NHL) players from the years 2006 to 2010 was used to identify athletes who had sustained a hip or groin injury. From this database, players diagnosed with an intra-articular hip injury were identified. The incidence of intra-articular hip injuries per 1000 player-hours played and per 1000 player-game appearances was compared between goaltenders, defensemen, and forwards.Results:Ninety-four hip injuries, accounting for 10.6% (94/890) of all hip and groin injuries, were identified as intra-articu...