Effects of training load and non‐training stress on injury risk in collegiate ice hockey players

Abstract

This prospective cohort study investigated the relationships between cumulative training loads measured in arbitrary units (AU), non-training stress levels, and athletic injury risk in one team of male collegiate ice hockey players. Measures of athlete training load and non-training stress were recorded each on-ice session over one season. Daily load and stress sums were calculated for the two-day and two-week periods preceding each on-ice session. Athletic injuries were also recorded, and odds ratio analyses were used to determine relationships between training load and injury risk, as well as non-training stress and injury risk. Athletes who exerted training loads of 360 AU-540 AU and of 540 AU-1380 AU over 2 days experienced significantly greater odds of injury compared to athletes who exerted training loads <360 AU and <540 AU, respectively. This study concluded that as two-day training load increases, so do the odds of injury in this sample. In an effort to reduce the odds of athletic injury, the monitoring of individual two-day cumulative training load should be incorporated into the training programs of elite ice hockey players.