Most injuries in hockey tend to be traumatic – cuts, bruises, breaks and concussions from collisions with players, equipment or the boards. However for the more casual player, muscle injuries tend to be very common. Most weekend warriors are guilty of not enough strength and conditioning, and improperly warming up/stretching before the game.

The Canadian Chiropractic Association has developed an informative pamphlet to help hockey players stay healthy. Besides giving tips on how to prevent injury through proper equipment, they also lay out some stretches for both before and after the game. These stretches will help to prepare, and help recover, the most commonly injured and stressed muscles with hockey.

You can download the pamphlet by clicking on the following link:

Hockey Stretches

As I usually tell my patients, its way easier to prevent the problem from happening than to fix it once its bad. Take the time to stretch properly before and after your game!

Dr. Debbie Wright is a practicing Comox Valley Chiropractor.