HandNCT07586033
Prevalence and Functional Impact of Hand and Wrist Symptoms in Ice Hockey Players
An observational study of Hand and Wrist, run by Dalarna County Council, Sweden.
Trial summary
Ice hockey places high physical demands on the hands and wrists due to frequent shooting, passing, and physical contact. This study aims to understand how common hand and wrist pain or symptoms are among ice hockey players in Sweden, and how these symptoms affect training, participation, and performance. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 15 years and older
- Conditions the study is for
- Hand, Wrist, Overuse Injury
- How many people
- 800 participants
- Where
- No sites listed yet
- Study dates
- 1 Sep 2026to 31 Dec 2026
- Phase
- Observational
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 15 years and older
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Child, Adult, Older adult
Study population: Active male and female ice hockey players recruited from Swedish ice hockey teams across elite, junior elite, and amateur levels. Teams are selected from professional leagues (SHL and SDHL), second-tier leagues (HockeyAllsvenskan and NDHL where applicable), junior U18/U20 teams, and amateur clubs. Participants are drawn from active rosters during the competitive season or pre-season period and complete a structured questionnaire assessing hand and wrist symptoms, pain, and functional impact.
Who may be able to join
- Active ice hockey players currently registered on a participating team roster in Sweden.
- Male or female players competing at elite, junior elite, or amateur level.
- Participation in one of the included competition levels during the current season.
- Able to understand and complete the questionnaire.
- Provides written informed consent.
Who cannot join
- Declines participation.
- Inability to complete the survey due to language barriers or cognitive limitations.
- Acute severe upper-limb injury at time of data collection preventing meaningful survey completion, if deemed necessary for context-specific exclusion.
Trial locations and contacts
No sites are listed yet. Contact the study team or a site near you to ask about taking part.
About this study
Official title: Prevalence and Functional Impact of Hand and Wrist Symptoms in Ice Hockey Players: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study
Ice hockey places high physical demands on the hands and wrists due to frequent shooting, passing, and physical contact. This study aims to understand how common hand and wrist pain or symptoms are among ice hockey players in Sweden, and how these symptoms affect training, participation, and performance.
Players from different competitive levels (elite, junior, and amateur) and both sexes will complete a structured questionnaire based on the validated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) tool, along with questions about pain intensity, symptom characteristics, and functional impact.
The goal is to describe the prevalence and severity of hand and wrist symptoms across different groups of players and to identify potential differences between sex, playing level, and position. No treatment or intervention is involved.
Read the detailed description
This cross-sectional observational survey study investigates the prevalence, severity, and functional impact of hand and wrist symptoms among ice hockey players in Sweden. Ice hockey is characterized by high mechanical loading of the upper extremities due to repeated stick handling, shooting, passing, and frequent body contact, which may result in both acute injuries and chronic or overuse-related symptoms affecting the hand and wrist.
Despite the recognized importance of upper-limb function in ice hockey performance, the burden of non-time-loss symptoms remains poorly described in epidemiological injury surveillance systems. Traditional injury registries primarily capture time-loss injuries and may therefore underestimate the true functional impact of hand and wrist complaints that do not necessarily result in absence from play.
To address this gap, players from multiple competitive levels-including elite, junior elite, and amateur ice hockey teams in Sweden-will complete a structured questionnaire during the competitive or pre-season period. The survey is based on the validated Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) Overuse Injury Questionnaire, supplemented with additional items capturing pain intensity (numeric rating scale), symptom characteristics (location, duration, and triggers), and perceived impact on training, participation, and performance.
The study population includes both male and female athletes across different competitive tiers, allowing stratified analyses by sex, playing level, and playing position. The primary objective is to estimate the prevalence of hand and wrist symptoms, while secondary objectives include quantifying symptom severity and functional consequences, as well as exploring associations with player characteristics such as age, playing experience, and prior injury history.
All data are collected at a single time point, and no interventions or treatments are administered as part of the study. The results are intended to improve understanding of the functional burden of hand and wrist symptoms in ice hockey and to inform future injury prevention, load management, and rehabilitation strategies.
- Conditions
- Hand, Wrist, Overuse Injury, Ice Hockey Players
- Keywords
- ice hockey, hand and wrist symptoms, OSTRC questionnaire, sports injuries, cross-sectional survey
- Medical subject headings
- Cumulative Trauma Disorders, Athletic Injuries
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Ice Hockey Players | Active male and female ice hockey players from elite, junior, and amateur teams in Sweden participating in a cross-sectional survey assessing hand and wrist symptoms. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Prevalence of Hand and Wrist Pain Under Load in Ice Hockey Players
Proportion of ice hockey players reporting hand or wrist pain occurring during hockey-specific load-bearing activities (e.g., shooting, stick handling, body contact), assessed using a structured cross-sectional survey including OSTRC-based symptom items.
Unit of Measure:
Percentage of participants (%)
Measured: Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment)
Secondary outcomes (5)
Severity of Hand and Wrist Symptoms in Ice Hockey Players
Overall severity of hand and wrist symptoms during hockey participation, assessed using a structured questionnaire based on OSTRC overuse injury principles and a 0-10 numeric rating scale for pain intensity.
Unit of Measure:
OSTRC-based severity score (ordinal scale) Numeric Rating Scale (0-10), where 0 = no pain and 10 = worst imaginable pain (higher score = worse outcome)
Measured: Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment)
Functional Impact of Hand and Wrist Symptoms on Participation and Performance
Self-reported impact of hand and wrist symptoms on participation in training and competition, training volume, and on-ice performance, assessed using structured OSTRC-based items.
Unit of Measure:
Ordinal scale responses (5-level categories) assessing:
participation limitation training reduction performance impairment
Higher scores indicate greater functional impact.
Measured: Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment)
Characteristics of Hand and Wrist Pain in Ice Hockey Players
Distribution and pattern of self-reported hand and wrist pain during hockey participation, including anatomical location, triggering actions, and duration of symptoms.
Unit of Measure:
Categorical responses (multiple response options), including:
anatomical location (e.g., radial wrist, ulnar wrist, fingers, thumb) triggering mechanisms (e.g., shooting, stick handling, body contact) symptom duration (e.g., during activity, minutes, hours, persistent)
Results will be reported as frequencies and percentages.
Measured: Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment)
History of Hand and Wrist Injuries and Associated Characteristics in Ice Hockey Players
Self-reported history of prior hand and wrist injuries, including injury type, timing, and current treatment status, as potential background factors associated with current symptom burden.
Unit of Measure:
Categorical variables reported as frequencies and percentages, including:
presence of previous hand/wrist injury (yes/no) injury type (e.g., fracture, ligament injury, tendon injury) timing of most recent injury (year) current treatment status (yes/no; type of treatment)
Measured: Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment)
Clinical Management and Reporting Behaviour Related to Hand and Wrist Symptoms in Ice Hockey Players
Self-reported clinical management strategies and reporting behaviour related to hand and wrist symptoms, including communication with medical staff, reasons for non-reporting, return-to-play modifications, and use of protective or symptomatic treatments during participation.
Unit of Measure:
Categorical responses reported as frequencies and percentages, including:
reporting to medical staff (yes/no) reasons for non-reporting changes in playing style due to symptoms (yes/no) use of protective measures or treatments (e.g., tape, brace, medication)
Measured: Baseline (cross-sectional survey at enrollment)
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted14 May 2026
- Study start1 Sep 2026 (estimated)
- Primary completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
- Study completion31 Dec 2026 (estimated)
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (3)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for HandStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Observational
- Observational model
- Other
- Time perspective
- Other
- Enrolment
- 800 participants (estimated)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Dalarna County Council, Sweden
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Daniel Muder, Dalarna County Council, Sweden
- Investigators
- Daniel Muder, MD, PhD, Principal investigator, Centre for Clinical Research Dalarna, Uppsala University, Sweden
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07586033
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 2026-02210-01A
- Status last verified
- Apr 2026
- First submitted
- 30 Apr 2026
- Last updated
- 27 May 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: Individual participant data (IPD) including de-identified questionnaire responses will be shared. This includes OSTRC-derived symptom and severity scores, pain intensity ratings (NRS), reported symptom characteristics (location, duration, triggers), and functional impact on training, participation, and performance, as well as basic demographic and playing characteristics such as age, sex, playing position, playing level, years of experience, dominant hand, and prior hand/wrist injury history.
Publications
Clarsen B, Myklebust G, Bahr R. Development and validation of a new method for the registration of overuse injuries in sports injury epidemiology: the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Centre (OSTRC) overuse injury questionnaire. Br J Sports Med. 2013 May;47(8):495-502. doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-091524. Epub 2012 Oct 4.
PubMed 23038786Aman M, Forssblad M, Henriksson-Larsen K. Incidence and severity of reported acute sports injuries in 35 sports using insurance registry data. Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2016 Apr;26(4):451-62. doi: 10.1111/sms.12462. Epub 2015 Apr 8.
PubMed 25850826Worner T, Kauppinen S, Eek F. Injury patterns in Swedish elite female and male ice hockey - A cross-sectional comparison of past-season's injuries. Phys Ther Sport. 2024 Jan;65:83-89. doi: 10.1016/j.ptsp.2023.12.001. Epub 2023 Dec 8.
PubMed 38091928