Management of the Equipment Ladden Potentially Spine Injured Hockey Athlete

Despite safety advancements in nearly all aspects of ice hockey, injuries occur in all levels of the sport from youth mite groups to backyard pond pickup games to the NHL. Improvements in equipment, game rules, coaching objectives, athlete/family education, and standards of athletic health care have made great strides; however, incidents ranging from seemingly idiopathic aches and pains to potentially catastrophic cervical spinal cord traumas still occur in ice hockey. This presentation addresses causes of spine injuries in hockey and discusses management of the equipment laden athlete hockey athlete on ice prior to transportation to an advance medical facility.