Video Analysis of Acute Injuries in Elite Field Hockey

Objective: With this study, we aim to determine the value of video assessment of acute injuries in field hockey. Design: Retrospective video analysis for acute injuries. Setting: Professional field hockey. Participants: Seven women and men's field hockey tournaments (World League, Champions Trophy) in 2015. Interventions: Not applicable. Outcome Measures: An injury was defined as any new musculoskeletal complaint leading to time stoppage and medical attention. The outcome measures were time at play, location on the pitch, type of injury, injured body part, and injury mechanism. Results: A total of 190 injuries occurred in 179 matches (55/73 female and 135/106 male matches). There were 0.75 injuries per match for women [confidence interval (CI, 0.31-1.13)] and 1.27 injuries per match for men (CI, 0.88-1.61). The number of injuries per 1000 player match hours was 34.20 for women (CI, 14.04-51.29) and 57.89 for men (CI, 29.78-73.12). The highest injury frequency occurred within the third quarter and within the circle. Contusion was the most common injury type (90.9% in women and 96.3% in men). The leading causes of injuries were hits by the ball or stick and collisions with another player. The head/face was the most affected body part in both sex groups (32.7% in women and 29.6% in men). Conclusions: Video analysis revealed data on injury incidence within the same range of previous reports in elite field hockey. Its advantages, such as slow motion and repetitive play of injury scenes, could contribute valuable information if incorporated into the injury recording process.