Tham Alexander, Esser Katherine L, Rubin Jared, Lezak Bradley A, Mercer Nathaniel P, Butler James J, Hartman Hayden, Rosenbaum Andrew J, Kennedy John G
Foot and Ankle Division, Department of Orthopedic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, 10002, New York City, NY, USA.
Albany Medical Center, 12208, Albany, NY, USA.
J Orthop. 2025 Jul 29;68:331-335. doi: 10.1016/j.jor.2025.07.033. eCollection 2025 Oct.
Ankle fractures are common injuries in high-impact sports but have not been extensively studied in professional hockey. Given the high-speed, collision-heavy nature of the National Hockey League (NHL), ankle fractures may significantly affect player performance and team resources.
To investigate the incidence, management, and impact of ankle fractures on return-to-play (RTP) and performance metrics among NHL players.
A retrospective review of NHL players from 2013 to 2023 identified 30 athletes who sustained ankle fractures. Injury data, treatment intervention (surgical vs. non-surgical), and mechanism of injury were recorded from an online databse. Performance metrics were compared between pre- and post-injury seasons using non-parametric statistical methods.
The calculated rate of occurrence was 0.52 ankle fractures per 10,000 athlete exposures. All players returned to NHL play, with a mean time to return of 1.8 ± 1.0 months. There were no significant differences in performance metrics, including goals, assists, points, time on ice, or shooting efficiency, between pre- and post-injury seasons. Surgically treated players had a longer recovery time (2.7 vs. 1.4 months; = 0.007) but missed a similar number of games compared to non-surgically treated players (16.6 ± 14.5 vs 16.2 ± 12.1 games missed, p = 0.756). Puck impact injuries were more likely to require surgery than contact-related injuries ( = 0.038). No player sustained a refracture.
This study found that ankle fractures are a rare injury sustained by NHL players but do not lead to statistically significant deterioration in player performance metrics. All NHL players successfully returned to play at the NHL level at a mean time to RTP of 1.8 months. Taken together, these findings indicate that ankle fractures in NHL players have minimal effect on their ability to return to and maintain pre-injury performance levels.
踝关节骨折是高冲击力运动中的常见损伤，但在职业曲棍球运动中尚未得到广泛研究。鉴于国家冰球联盟（NHL）比赛速度快、碰撞激烈的特点，踝关节骨折可能会显著影响球员表现和球队资源。
调查NHL球员踝关节骨折的发生率、治疗方式及其对重返赛场（RTP）和表现指标的影响。
对2013年至2023年的NHL球员进行回顾性研究，确定了30名发生踝关节骨折的运动员。从在线数据库中记录损伤数据、治疗干预措施（手术治疗与非手术治疗）以及损伤机制。使用非参数统计方法比较受伤赛季前后的表现指标。
计算得出的发生率为每10000名运动员暴露中有0.52例踝关节骨折。所有球员均重返NHL赛场，平均重返时间为1.8±1.0个月。受伤赛季前后的表现指标，包括进球数、助攻数、得分、上场时间或射门效率，均无显著差异。接受手术治疗的球员恢复时间更长（2.7个月对1.4个月；P = 0.007），但与非手术治疗的球员相比，缺赛场次相近（分别为16.6±14.5场和16.2±12.1场，P = 0.756）。与接触相关损伤相比，冰球撞击伤更有可能需要手术治疗（P = 0.038）。没有球员发生骨折部位再次骨折。
本研究发现，踝关节骨折是NHL球员中罕见的损伤，但不会导致球员表现指标出现统计学上的显著下降。所有NHL球员均成功重返NHL赛场比赛，平均RTP时间为1.8个月。综合来看，这些发现表明，NHL球员的踝关节骨折对其重返赛场并维持受伤前表现水平的能力影响极小。
