Ice hockey is an exciting, competitive and sometimes violent sport in which collisions between athletes, and between athletes and the wall, can occur at fairly high velocities. According to researchers at Ohio State University, over 530,000 American's play ice hockey and over 40 percent of all injuries sustained are to the upper extremities, including the shoulder.
Shoulder Anatomy
Your shoulder is the point of junction for three distinct bones, the humerus or upper arm bone, the scapula or shoulder blade, and the clavicle or collar bone. On the upper most outside edge of your scapula is a bony projection called the acromion process. This is the point at which the clavicle attaches to the scapula and that junction is called the acromioclavicular joint, or AC joint. A separated shoulder injury frequently occurs at this AC joint.
Mechanism of AC Injury
According to Stephen Bushee, head athletic trainer at Boston College, there are two primary ways in which AC separation occurs in ice hockey. A direct force delivered to the top of the shoulder which can occur in direct frontal collision with another player, with the wall, or in a tumbling fall can cause an AC separation. Most AC separations result from a compressive force such as might occur when a player is forcibly pushed and squeezed against the wall by another player.
Protection of the AC Joint
To properly protect your AC joint, be sure that your use only high-quality equipment that has been properly fitted and has not been damaged or is showing signs of excessive wear and tear. According to Dr. Michael Stuart, Chief Medical Officer for USA Hockey and Professor of Orthopedics and Sports Medicine at the Mayo Clinic, preventing AC injuries depends on properly sized shoulder pads with enough padding to dissipate the force of collisions.
Reebok 8K KFS
Many professional NHL players rely on the Reebok 8K KFS shoulder pad which has a specially hinged joint in the clavicle region providing for a large range of motion. A special feature of this pad for protection of the AC joint is the incorporation of a low profile shoulder cap which helps absorb and dissipate the force of collisions. This will help prevent the type of shoulder separation that occurs from a force to the top of the shoulder.
Easton Stealth S19
The Easton Stealth S19 is a shoulder pad marketed as having a special technology called ISM, or independent shoulder motion providing enhanced mobility of the shoulder. The S19 includes a high density foam clavicle guard, independently hinged shoulder caps which protect against top forces and help dissipate compressive force and an XJP, extended joint protection, pad under the shoulder cap for additional protection of the AC joint.
References
- "American Academy of Pediatrics"; Characteristics of Ice Hockey--Related Injuries Treated in US Emergency Departments; S.G. Hostetler, et. al.; December 2004
- "American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine"; Hockey Injuries and Prevention; 2010
- "Prevention of Ice Hockey Injuries"; Michael J. Stuart MD Chief Medical Officer, USA Hockey Professor of Orthopedics, Co-Director of Sports Medicine Mayo Clinic Rochester, MN
- "Acromiclavicular Separation in Ice Hockey - Typical Injury, Different Mechanism"; Stephen Busheep; Atlantic Coast Conference; December 2005
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