Medical Team Perspectives on Hand and Wrist Injuries in Elite Male and Female Ice Hockey Players

This is a cross-sectional survey study investigating how medical team staff in elite Swedish ice hockey perceive hand and wrist injuries in male and female players. Hand and wrist injuries are common in ice hockey and can affect both performance and participation. While injury registries describe how often these injuries occur, less is known about how they are managed and prioritised in daily clinical practice, or whether there are differences in perception between medical teams working in male and female elite leagues. In this study, medical team professionals working with teams in Swedish elite ice hockey (including SHL, HockeyAllsvenskan, and SDHL) will complete a structured questionnaire. This includes all relevant healthcare and medical support professionals within the teams. The survey examines perceptions of injury frequency, underreporting, functional impact, clinical management strategies, and return-to-play decision-making related to hand and wrist injuries. The aim is to better understand how medical teams experience and manage these injuries in real-world elite sport settings, and to identify potential gaps between epidemiological data and clinical practice. The study may help inform future injury prevention strategies, improve clinical decision-making, and support the development of more standardized management approaches in elite ice hockey. No interventions or treatments are performed in this study.