∥ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation,

Ice hockey is a team sport that has recently grown in popularity not only in the United States but also in Canada and Europe. With this increase in popularity has come a growing concern about the number and severity of injuries. The world literature on the biome-chanics and physiology of ice hockey was reviewed in an attempt to evaluate the forces and mechanisms involved in the game. The influence of rule and equip-ment changes on injury patterns was particularly stud-ied. Several studies on the epidemiology of injuries, providing data on the types of injuries and the mecha-nisms of those injuries, were analyzed to determine the conclusions that could be supported and those that require further study. Possible changes in the pattern